A Different Outcome
by sleepy1177
Summary: Sixteen year old Beatrice Prior's aptitude test shows her a glimpse of a war against her faction. She decides to transfer to the very faction that was killing the innocent Abnegation in an attempt to stop any potential war. She's convinced if she can befriend the cruel young leader she recognizes from her strange vision, it may change the outcome. OOC
1. Chapter 1

**AN: So, I've had two unedited chapters of this story sitting in my doc manager for awhile now, and instead of deleting them to make space, I'm going to edit what I've written and publish this story. It may be a slow update process, but I find myself easily switching from this to my other two active stories all the time, so when the muses call me I guess I should listen. :)**

 **This is a hybrid of book/movie/my own creations. Choosing age is 16 in this story. Since I imagined Eric and Four as 18 year olds, they are closer to the book descriptions (minus the greasy hair and absurd number of piercings for Eric, I imagine him attractive with a "bad boy" vibe), while Tris isn't the dainty little girl from the books, I picture her more along the lines of looking like an average 16 year old girl, maybe Shailene Woodley in her teen years.**

The plastic chair was hard and uncomfortable and her long grey dress and sweater itchy and warm. She shifted nervously as she glanced around at the other dependents, all not so patiently waiting for their name to be called. She tried to make eye contact with the lanky, brown haired, green eyed boy sitting across from her, but her brother was lost in his own thoughts. She absentmindedly kicked her feet at the floor, scuffing her plain grey boots along the nondescript tiles, taking small pleasure in the unpleasant noise it caused.

"Beatrice!" Her brother hissed from across the room. "Stop fidgeting." He whispered.

She stuck her tongue out at Caleb, causing him to roll his eyes and turn away from her. She huffed out a breath, blowing the few strands of unruly hair out of her face. She should tighten her bun, but she couldn't be bothered with that today. Her nervousness over her pending aptitude test distracted her from being the perfect Abnegation sixteen year old for at least today.

Abnegation was her faction of birth and where she has spent the first sixteen years of her life being oppressed. Beatrice wasn't cut out for Abnegation, and anyone who met her knew it. It wasn't that she lacked selflessness at all, it was just that she was entirely too alive to spend her time being told that everyday things were selfish. She wanted freedom and she wanted to enjoy life and everything it had to offer. She was curious about all of the things she'd been told her whole life were selfish, like music, drinking alcohol, even sex. Beatrice wasn't a wild child by any means, but she also wasn't a prude, she wanted to experience and feel things that were almost prohibited by her home faction. She was also brave, and the fine line between her selflessness and bravery would serve her well in a faction where bravery is celebrated. For as long as Beatrice can remember she's wanted to be Dauntless.

Her brother Caleb, on the other hand, was selfless to a fault. He seemed to be the perfect Abnegation in every way that she couldn't be. She stole another glance across the small room at him, and she wondered if this might be their last night together. Caleb and Beatrice were close in age, they were only ten months apart, but their personalities were so different that they clashed quite often. Caleb was quiet, introverted and extremely logical where Beatrice was a free thinker, argumentative and reckless. She would miss her family terribly, but at least they'd be in Abnegation together once she was gone.

"Beatrice Prior." A woman calls from an open doorway. The girl stands up and quietly follows her into the room, noticing the mirrors on the wall immediately.

"Yeah, not sure why you Abnegation are so weird about mirrors." The woman sighs. She's wearing Dauntless black, has long brown dreds, almond shaped brown eyes and the most beautiful tattoos.

"Do you always do the aptitude tests?" Beatrice asks.

"I usually do, for some reason I always seem to get the Abnegation. I'm Tori." She replies.

"It's nice to meet you, I'm Beatrice, but you already know that. What's this?" Beatrice asks, scrunching her nose up at the small glass of clear liquid.

"Curious, aren't we?" Tori asks. "It's for the test."

"What happens in the test?" Beatrice asks.

Tori shakes her head. "That's not how this works. Drink it, it'll be done in no time."

Beatrice drinks the liquid then settles down into her chair, relaxing into a sleep like state. Tori watches the monitor in front of her, absentmindedly picking at her cuticles. There's only so many times she can watch this damn dog either be fed or killed. Out of the corner of her eye, she catches something highly unusual. She watches in facination as she sees a war scene, where it appears her fellow Dauntless are attacking the Abnegation. She glances over at Beatrice, but there are no outward signs of anything unusual.

"What the hell..." Tori mutters. She thinks about getting someone in the room with her, but she immediately thinks better of it, knowing that whatever she is witnessing is a phenomenon she's never seen before. Tori knows better than anyone that anything that is considered unusual or outside of the norm can be extremely dangerous, and she makes an immediate decision to help protect this Abnegation girl as much as she can.

Tori recognizes the faces on the monitor, she watches in horror as she witnesses herself shooting innocent Abnegation citizens execution style. It seems as whatever she is viewing is through the eyes of Beatrice. She watches carefully as Beatrice appears to be following Four...how can this be? How would she even know him? They are confronted by two Dauntless leaders, Eric and Max, who recognize their divergence. Tori is horrified when she witnesses guns drawn, and she eventually watches as Beatrice shoots Eric and in their efforts to escape Beatrice is shot by Eric, leading to she and Four being taken prisoner by Jeanine Matthews from Erudite. She continues watching the scene play out in facinated horror, witnessing deaths of so many unknown Abnegation, seeing glimpses of herself and her friends carrying out murders in a zombie like state. She notices Beatrice is starting to become very animated in her place on the reclined chair in the room. Tori leans in closer and turns up the volume, watching in pure terror as Beatrice shoots a young man she keeps calling Will, and minutes later watches as she witnesses the murder of her own mother.

Tori glances at her watch and realizes Beatrice has been under for more than an hour. "I have to get her out of this." She says out loud, panicking for the first time.

Tori begins manually stopping the test, watching carefully for any signs of disturbance from Beatrice. Once the program has been stopped, she notices the younger woman stirring. She grabs a bottle of water and offers it to her.

"Why would you do that to me?" Beatrice exclaims, obviously shaken. "Why would the aptitude test show me a war on my own faction?" She asks. "Why would it show my mom being killed in front of me? What kind of test is this?"

"That shouldn't have happened." Tori responds. The Dauntless woman has never witnessed anything like what she just viewed through Beatrice's eyes. She is just as disturbed, if not more so than the young woman in front of her. Whatever this is, it's dangerous for Beatrice, and she feels the need to protect her.

"What do you mean? What were my results?" The younger woman asks.

"The test didn't work on you. Beatrice, I've never seen anything like that. It was almost like a vision." Tori shakes her head and rubs her hand across her face.

"That was real?" Beatrice asks, horrified.

"The people were, yes. As for the event, it's not something that's happened, but with the rumors I've heard about what Eric and Max are involved in it very well could happen." She replies.

"Who are Eric and Max?" Beatrice asks.

"The men who you and Four were pointing guns at." Tori explains.

"Four?"

"Damn, yeah you don't know. Ok, the man you were following, that was Four. He's an instructor for initiation and he also works in the control room." Tori responds. "The younger, long haired, pierced and tattooed man you drew your gun on is Eric, he's the youngest leader ever in Dauntless, he's also the one you shot in the foot, he's who shot you as well. And the older, darker man is Max, our head leader. I take it you've never met these people?"

"No." Beatrice responds, terror evident on her face. "What does this all mean?"

"I honestly have no idea. Beatrice, the aptitude tests are literally always the same - just a bunch of canned scenarios in which you need to make a decision. Those decisions are graded by the computer program and you fall into a faction recommendation as a result. I see the same exact thing, over and over. I've been administering these tests for years now and I've _never_ seen anything like what I saw today. I can't stay holed up in this room much longer without drawing more suspicion. I need to manually enter your results as Abnegation."

"No, please enter them as Dauntless." Beatrice replies frantically. "Tori, I don't understand what I just saw, but if it's any indication at all of an event that could happen I need to stop it. You saw it, my faction, my own mother was being _murdered_."

"Beatrice, inconclusive test results are an indication of divergence. You have to understand how dangerous that is. In Dauntless especially, you can be killed for it. You cannot tell anyone, not even your family about this. Do you understand?" The older woman says. "I'm going to recommend that you stay as far away from Dauntless as you can, but I have a feeling you aren't going to follow that advice. If you choose Dauntless tomorrow, come find me. I work in the tattoo parlor. Now, you tell everyone the serum made you sick, and that's why you took so long to be released from your test. And remember, do not tell anyone about your test results."

"Ok, I understand." Beatrice nods. "I _will_ be seeing you tomorrow Tori."

"I was afraid of that. Good luck." She replies, squeezing the younger woman's hand.

Beatrice walks home, head muddled with thoughts of the unusual aptitude test. It couldn't have been a dream, how would she have dreamed of real people whom she's never even met or heard of? Once she's inside her home she immediately is greeted by her brother from his spot in the kitchen.

"Beatrice, I've started dinner. Mom and Dad will be home shortly, they volunteered to help with the aptitude tests today. What happened with yours? You were in there for an incredibly long time." He asks, face twisted with concern.

"I got sick, it took me a long time to settle my stomach so I could leave." She answers, stepping inside the kitchen to help prepare the meal.

"What aptitude did you get?" He asks his sister.

"What aptitude did _you_ get?" She counters with a smirk.

He sighs and shakes his head. "Fair enough, we know we aren't supposed to talk about it. Beatrice, I know it's in our nature to be selfless and think of our families when making decisions, but I think tomorrow we also need to think of ourselves." He replies.

Andrew and Natalie Prior walk through the door, greeting their children as they normally do. The family sits down for dinner, quietly contemplating. They all realize this could be the last dinner they share, depending on the decisions that are made at tomorrow's choosing ceremony.

"Caleb, Beatrice your mother and I will clean up. You both should go upstairs and rest, you have a lot to think about in preparation for tomorrow." Andrew says, his children both nod in agreement.

Andrew and Natalie hug their children tightly, and watch as they retreat upstairs. They clean in silence, hoping that both of their children return home tomorrow.

The next morning Beatrice and Caleb walk towards the line of grey waiting to get into the building that the choosing ceremony is being held in. She glances over her brothers shoulder at the other similar lines, all broken down by faction colors. Shouts and yells rise above the noise of the train and their attention is drawn to the blur of black running and taking their places in the Dauntless line.

Once inside and seated, Beatrice is numbly aware of Marcus Eaton rattling on about the importance of decisions made today. Her mother reaches for her hand and she relishes in the comfort the frowned-upon physical contact brings her. She watches her brother rise, unaware that his name was even called. Caleb ambles his way down to the stage, and the Prior's watch as he slices his hand and drips his blood over the bowl of water that represents Erudite. An audible gasp is heard in the large room, and Beatrice feels her mother squeeze their clasped hands. Her perfect Abnegation brother just chose the very faction that causes their father so much stress.

"Beatrice Prior." Marcus booms and she slowly rises from her seat. As she makes her way to the stage she is conflicted. Should she be selfless and stay with her parents, especially now that Caleb has left?

She picks up the knife and makes her slice. Blood pools in the palm of her hand and she hesitates, holding her hand above the grey stones of Abnegation. She glances at Marcus' cold eyes and moves her hand over the Dauntless coals, smiling as she hears the sizzle of her blood dropping against them.

"Dauntless!" Marcus booms, shooting her a look of pure disgust as she hears the cheers and whistles from her new faction mates. As she walks over to join their group her eyes lock with icy grey ones and she gasps. Tall, well built, tattooed and pierced, with pale skin and long black hair that is tied neatly in a ponytail that's flowing down his back. Her eyes move from his and travel down his tattooed neck and black clad body. He looks almost the same as he did in her aptitude test, except this time he's watching her carefully and not holding a gun on her.

Eric's never come to the two choosing ceremonies that have been held since he transferred, as Max usually leaves him on the roof of the initiate entrance to Dauntless. Today was different, Max finally gave up a slight bit of his control and allowed Eric to be a representative of Dauntless leadership at the ceremony.

She doesn't hesitate, she walks directly towards him and holds eye contact, daring him to look away first. He doesn't, instead he cocks his head to the side and furrows his eyebrows as he watches her come closer, scooting over purposely so she can take her place next to him. With the way they are watching each other, it's obvious there's a mutual attraction that neither of them expected.

He's intrigued, not only do Abnegation rarely transfer, when they do it's certainly not to Dauntless. Abnegation women are meek, with little self esteem and even less courage and yet here is this girl with fire in her eyes standing directly beside him. She's attractive, and she stands out, which is also something to note as she is swathed in the shapeless grey dress that all Abnegation women are forced to wear. Her light brown hair is naturally sun streaked, and pulled into the standard bun hairstyle of the faction. Her complexion is pale, and she has a nice body with just enough curves to be noticeable on a slightly taller than average frame, a smattering of freckles on her milky skin and her face free of any makeup. Her eye lashes are thick and surrounding some of the most beautiful large hazel eyes he's ever seen.

He doesn't realize just how much his focus has been lost until he watches people start to leave the building. He walks close to the Stiff, wondering if she'll even make it to the train. She's an observant learner, quickly falling into pace with the other Dauntless and deftly climbing up the railing to reach the train tracks. He watches as she falls into step with the others who are running to catch the train. He sprints ahead, as is expected of a Dauntless leader and he jumps into a car with ease. He watches as the Stiff and a Candor girl finally board the train, falling into each other in a fit of giggles. He surpresses a smile of his own glancing down at the floor, when he looks up again he finds her hazel eyes locked onto his.

She doesn't know where this boldness is coming from, but she feels the need to make an impression on this man she remembers from her test. She distinctly remembers shooting him in the foot, and based on their limited interaction during that vision she could tell they didn't like each other very much. However, one thing that stands out in her memory was that neither of them could shoot to kill each other. She searches her memory for the name that Tori called him and she comes up blank. She walks away from small group of transfers and makes her way towards the tattooed man. He once again shifts to make room for her, but this time she stops in front of him.

"So, Stiff," he rumbles in a deep voice, "what is it you're looking for?" He asks.

She can feel the heat radiating from her cheeks as she contemplates her answer. "How about your name for starters?" She asks.

No one talks to him. He's known to be cold, cruel and ruthless. People fear him, and in the compound anyone outside of the leadership bubble tends to avoid him like the plague. He's unapproachable, and yet here is a Stiff who is looking at him like he's the only person she can see.

"Why do you care?" He asks, his words cold, but his eyes betraying the obvious curiosity flowing through his thoughts.

"Interesting name." She retorts, not missing a beat. "Do you have a nickname or should I go ahead and call you 'why do you care'?" She doesn't miss the way the corners of his mouth twitch upward, even if it was just for a split second.

As much as he should ignore this woman, he can't help but be impressed by her courage. "Eric." He rumbles in a low voice.

"Now that wasn't so hard, was it?" She replies with a smile. He narrows his eyes at her.

"You have my name now, are you going to tell me yours? Or should I just call you Stiff?" He asks.

"I'm certainly not a Stiff." She replies, showing her disgust at the offensive slang term used towards Abnegation.

"That's yet to be determined, _Beatrice._ " He replies, emphasizing her name.

"I see you were paying attention during today's ceremony after all, but that's not my name anymore." She scoffs while blushing furiously. He emits a low chuckle from deep in his throat.

"Well, what shall I be calling you then?" He asks with just a hint of a smile on his lips.

She appears to be thinking about how to answer his question. They're interrupted by a shout of "Get ready to jump" that reverberates through the train car. He watches as her eyes widen and he smirks at her before pushing himself off the wall he was leaning against and taking a running start to leap from the train. She watches as he easily jumps onto the rooftop, his black ponytail trailing behind him.

She looks around and there are only a handful of people left, one being the Candor girl she jumped onto the train with.

"Together?" She asks the terrified girl.

"Together." She answers. They grasp hands and take a running leap from the train to the gravel topped building, both tumbling awkwardly.

They join the rest of the initiates who are gathered in a group next to a ledge overlooking a large opening. Beatrice notices that Eric has jumped up on the ledge and has taken his long black hair out from the ponytail he had it tied in, and it's now flowing down his shoulders and back. She's never seen a man with such long, shiny hair, and on Eric it's quite attractive. She can't keep her eyes off of him, and she notices he seems to be staring at her with the same intensity. She removes the pin holding her bun in place and shakes her head, letting her light brown hair fall down her back in waves, noticing that Eric's eyes remain on her.

"My name is Max, this is Eric." An older, dark skinned man yells from the ledge. She recognizes him as the man who was accompanying Eric in her vision. "We are two of your Dauntless leaders. There is only one way into the building and its down there." The older man gestures over his shoulder.

"We have to jump?" Someone asks.

"Is there water at the bottom?" Another asks.

"Guess you'll find out." Eric answers. "Who's first?"

She doesn't know why she feels it's so important, but to Beatrice the answers to what happened during her aptitude test all lie within the handsome young Dauntless leader. Now is the time to get his attention.

"I am." She calls out, slowly walking towards Eric. His face masks his surprise, but she can see the intrigue dancing in his grey eyes.

On an impulse he can't seem to fight, he reaches out his hand to help her to the ledge. She takes the offered hand and steps up onto the ledge, noticing Eric's slight hesitation in dropping her hand. She peers down, seeing nothing but the dark gaping hole. She shrugs off her itchy grey sweater.

"Oooo take it off Stiff!" A Candor boy yells. She glares in his direction, throwing the offending article of clothing at him.

"Today, initiate." Eric says in a menacing voice.

She takes a deep breath before stepping off the roof silently, falling through the hole and finally bouncing on a net at the bottom. A giggle escapes her lips as she lays on the net composing herself. She is quickly jerked down by someone tugging on the net, and she's met with outstretched arms.

The man is young, probably the same age as Eric. Dark brown hair, a slightly hooked nose, full lips and dark blue eyes. He's leaner, but obviously well built, and he's attractive. This is the person she was following in her aptitude test vision.

"Were you pushed?" He asks as he helps her off the net and onto her feet.

"No." She answers.

"Name?" The one word is posed as a question.

"It's Be..." She hesitates, wanting to have a new name that matches her new start.

"Is it a hard one?" He asks, a smile in his eyes. "You can pick a new one, but make it good. You don't get to pick again."

"My name is Tris." She replies.

"First jumper Tris!" He yells and is answered by whistles and hoots. "Welcome to Dauntless."


	2. Chapter 2

The first few nights sleeping in a coed dormitory were foreign to Tris, but she managed to get some sleep knowing that Christina was in the bunk next to hers. The first week showed some interesting personalities within her fellow initiates. There was an Erudite named Will and a Candor named Al who were quickly becoming friends with Christina and Tris. Al is a larger than life figure, tall and bulky, with muscles surrounded by some baby fat. His dark brown hair and brown eyes a good fit to his complexion, and he's incredibly kind. Will is tall, with a mop of curly light brown hair and celery green eyes and he appears to have a slight crush on Christina. Tris vividly remembered shooting him during her aptitude test, looking into his blank eyes as she begged him to recognize her. The person who was in that vision was robotic and zombie like, while the young man she's getting to know is animated and full of life.

Tris looks at the initiates gathered around the training room while waiting for their instructors to arrive. The remaining Candor transfers seem to be the worst, Molly is bulky and big boned, with a poor attitude to match her large size. Peter is taller, dark haired and green eyed, handsome and well built, but with a superiority complex and a horrible habit of bullying those he deems weaker than himself. Drew follows Peter and Molly like a puppy dog, his compact but bulky frame and carrot red hair an odd combination, and he lacks his own opinion or personality. The two remaining Erudite transfers are a couple, with Edward being tall, pale with blonde hair and blue eyes, fiercely competitive but friendly and kind. His girlfriend Myra is willowy but looks like a strong gust of wind could carry her away. It's obvious she chose Dauntless to follow her love.

"Today you will be learning how to shoot a gun in addition to the physical training as you've already been doing since last week. Follow me." Four bellows as the imitates fall into line behind him. They are led to the roof, where several targets have been set up. Tris is excited for the change of scenery, as her first two fights were rougher than she expected, even though she managed to win one. Tris roughly has a rifle shoved into her hand, and she mechanically walks to a station. She looks around for Eric, but he has yet to join them this morning. This is the first time since initiation began last week that he's not been there.

"What does firing a gun have to do with bravery?" Peter asks through a yawn.

Four quickly takes the rifle from Peter's hands and presses the barrel to Peter's forehead. "You're holding a loaded weapon, fucking act like it." He bellows. Peter pales and flinches, while the rest of the initiates all hold their breath.

Four pushes Peter and shoves the rifle back into his hand. "For the rest of you, if you know how to properly handle a loaded weapon, you're less likely to soil yourself or cry for your mother if you're ever in a situation where you need to use it." He replies.

"Don't just stand around, get to a station now!" Eric yells. Tris jerks her head towards him, not realizing he'd joined the group on the roof. She watches as Eric speaks to Four, and the conversation is obviously not going Four's way based on his body language and facial expressions. He huffs and walks away from Eric.

Four takes some time to demonstrate gun safety and the proper shooting techniques before having the initiates begin to practice shooting at their targets. Tris becomes frustrated when she has a hard time controlling the weapon in her arms.

"Don't be afraid of the weapon." Eric's deep voice makes her jump slightly and she hears him chuckle. "Here, let me show you." He stands behind Tris and places his arms on either side of hers, moving the rifle into its proper place. "It's going to have a kick back, but if you hold it against your shoulder it will give you more control." He says, his breath tickling her neck and she has to suppress a shiver. He moves his hands to her hips and slightly turns her, then uses his knee to spread her legs into a wider stance. "You want to keep your legs spread shoulder width apart." The timber of his voice gives her goosebumps, and she silently prays that he doesn't see them. The breeze on the roof is blowing his long hair towards her, and every once in awhile the strands tickle her face. He moves his hands up to hers. "Breathe Tris." He whispers in her ear and together they fire her weapon. She watches as the shot lands inches from the center target.

"Nice shot. Now you try." He moves away from her body, instead standing next to her and crossing his muscular arms across his chest. Tris takes a deep breath, lines up her shot and fires as she exhales. She hits next to their first shot. She smiles triumphantly, and he smirks at her. "Nicely done, initiate." He says.

"Thank you." She replies. He turns to walk away, but she catches him glancing over his shoulder at her. She turns back towards her target, grinning.

"What was that?" Christina whispers to Tris. "Mr. Ice Cold Dickhead seems to have eyes for you."

Tris shakes her head. "He was just helping. I couldn't keep control of the rifle." She whispers back.

"Yeah and he couldn't keep control of his hands." Christina snickers. "He's been watching you since training first started, every time the two of you are in a room together he can't tear his eyes away from you. He likes you Tris."

"You have an overactive imagination." Tris replies, focusing on her target.

"You are in denial. He's an asshole, but he's hot in that bad boy kind of way." Christina replies, before adjusting her goggles and shooting at her own target.

"Just like you're in denial about your little crush on Will." Tris replies with a smirk.

"Shhhh!" Christina hisses and Tris laughs.

"This isn't social hour initiates! Focus!" Eric yells as Christina rolls her eyes.

The two women continue to fire at their targets until Four dismisses them for lunch with orders to meet back in the training room in two hours. Tris carries her weapon to the table and watches Eric disappear through the door.

"You did well today." Four comments to Tris as he takes her weapon from her.

"Thank you." She replies. She looks at her instructor, noticing that when his face is relaxed like it is now he looks close to her own age. "Would you like some help?" She asks.

Four cocks his head to the side. "Your Abnegation is showing." He replies with a slight grin. Tris realizes that he's quite handsome when he's not scowling at her.

"You say that as if it's a bad thing." Tris replies, as she helps unload the weapons and set their safeties before placing them in large canvas bags.

"You're in Dauntless now. It will serve you well to act like it." He says coolly. She pauses and looks at him.

"Were you a transfer too? Or Dauntless born?" Tris asks.

"What makes you think you can talk to me?" He asks gruffly.

"It must be because you're so approachable." Tris retorts.

"Careful." He replies, glaring at her.

"Please, do tell me how I'm supposed to train with you if I can never speak to you." Tris challenges.

"You're dismissed initiate." He responds coldly. Tris huffs and walks away, heading to the door of the building and down the narrow staircase. She's surprised when she runs into Eric making his way up towards the roof.

"Where were you?" He asks gruffly.

"These stairs only lead one place." She replies, rolling her eyes.

"Careful initiate. I'm your leader." He replies. "So you were up on the roof with Four? Alone?"

"I stayed behind to help him pack the rifles away." Tris answers, crossing her arms across her chest defiantly.

"Of course you did. Two Stiffs helping each other out." He huffs, turning around to head back down the stairs.

"Four's from Abnegation?" She asks. Suddenly, Eric stops walking, turning to close the space between he and Tris. He stops one step below her, facing each other eye to eye. Tris can feel his breath on her face and smell the mint gum he's chewing.

"If you're so interested in Four's life story you should ask him about it yourself." He says in a deadly low voice.

Tris refuses to let the young leader intimidate her. She's heard the rumors about him, from almost everyone she's met. He's ruthless, cold, calculating and cruel. He has no friends, no girlfriend and he likes it that way. Tris sat down with Tori her first night here and heard how Eric hunts divergents for Jeanine Matthews from Erudite, the same woman who she watched capture Four and Tris in her aptitude test. She told Tris that the same group that Eric is now a part of was responsible for her brother's death five years ago. Tori suggested that Tris align herself with Four, but Tris still feels that the only way she can change whatever plans that Eric may be a part of is to change the man himself. Besides, Four's mood swings towards her are frustrating enough, and she doesn't feel like she has the time or patience to tame both her instructor and the young leader.

"I'm not interested in his life story, I'm interested in yours." She replies, refusing to back away from Eric. Tris watches the emotions that flash in his stormy grey eyes.

"Why is that?" He asks quietly.

"Why wouldn't I want to know more about you? You're a smart guy, I'm certain you can figure it out. You've caught me staring at you as many times as I've caught you staring at me. You avoid physical contact with everyone, except me. And right now, you're incredibly jealous that I was alone on a roof with Four, enough that you made a special trip up here to find me." Tris replies boldly.

Eric pauses, collecting himself. He prides himself on his poker face. He doesn't ever show emotions, and yet this Stiff is peeling him apart layer by layer. "You seem to think you have me all figured out, don't you initiate?" He replies evenly.

"You don't fool me. You also don't scare me." She challenges.

Eric is fighting a losing battle with the young woman in front of him. His brain is overloaded, his body is keenly aware of the close proximity they are in with each other and there is an ache in his groin that proves it. He can smell her shampoo, some sort of vanilla scent, and her own natural scent attracts him like a moth to a flame. Their faces are mere inches apart, and he realizes how easy it would be to lean forward just a bit and capture her lips with his own. He hears the door of the roof open and sees Four's silhouette shadowed by the bright sunlight. He's carrying two large canvas bags. Eric quickly puts some distance between Tris and himself.

"I thought I dismissed you initiate." Four says to Tris.

"I ran into Eric." She replies. "We were talking."

"What business do you have speaking with Eric?" He asks, closing the distance between them.

"We were exchanging recipes." She replies sarcastically. Four reaches the step above Tris and bends over, his face inches from hers.

"You will _not_ speak to me that way. You are dangerously close to being considered as committing insubordination." He says.

"She's technically on lunch, so while her attitude sucks it's not punishable." Eric replies to Tris' surprise.

"Of course you condone her attitude when it's directed at me." Four replies.

"Careful Four, I'm still your superior." Eric growls as Four roughly pushes his way past both Tris and Eric.

"Second place." He yells over his shoulder as he bounds down the stairs.

"Asshole." Tris mumbles. She hears the low chuckle from Eric and sees how handsome he is when he actually smiles. "I'm going to eat, care to join me?" She bravely asks.

Eric considers her offer. He eats alone, usually hiding in his office or apartment. "I don't do crowds." He replies.

"You don't like people." She answers. "I'm willing to compromise. We eat, together, wherever you choose. You already talk to me more than anyone else that I've seen, besides the people you're forced to talk to. How hard will it be to share a meal?"

"Fine. We pick up food from the cafeteria and we bring it to my apartment. Still want to eat with me?" He asks, knowing that her Abnegation upbringing will prevent this from actually happening.

"Yes, let's go." She replies, walking past him down the stairs.

Eric shakes his head and follows behind Tris, surprised at her bold attitude. There's something very un-Abnegation about her. They enter the cafeteria together, gathering stares as they quietly get in line for boxed meals to go. They exit the cafeteria, both aware of the eyes that follow them.

"That wasn't uncomfortable at all." Tris sighs as she follows Eric.

"You're the one who decided that you want to be friends with the most hated person in the faction." Eric replies as they reach his door. He keys in his code on the lock pad and opens the door, gesturing for Tris to enter. He guides them to his kitchen island and pulls a stool out for her to sit on.

"Why are you the most hated person in the faction?" Tris asks.

"Because it's just easier that way." He replies.

"You just pulled my chair out for me, so apparently there's something redeemable about you." Tris says as she looks around his apartment. She notices everything is extremely clean and meticulously kept. The walls are a combination of black, grey and blue. He has bookshelves, covered in many books. His furniture is large and manly, and he had a television mounted to one wall. Another wall has quotes painted on it from the Erudite manifesto along with the Dauntless one as well. Tris quirks her eyebrow at Eric.

"You were a transfer from Erudite." She poses it as a statement instead of a question. Eric pauses his eating and stares at the young woman in front of him. She gestures towards the wall.

"You know the Erudite manifesto?" He asks.

"I recognize it." She replies in between bites of her meal.

"I transferred two years ago." He replies carefully.

"You were second in your initiation class and Four was first." She replies.

Eric can feel the flush of anger rising on his cheeks. "Stop." He commands.

"No." She replies. "You don't get to do that."

"I don't? The last time I checked, this is my home. This is my life you're speaking of. So I get to do whatever the fuck I want." He replies.

"You're right, this is your home and your life. This is our friendship though. We should be able to talk." She replies calmly while eating her salad.

"Who said I wanted to be friends with you?" He asks loudly.

"How many people have been in your home?" She asks. "How many people have sat at this counter and shared a meal with you?"

"You are way too fucking confident to have ever been a Stiff." He replies, shaking his head with a chuckle. "Yes, Four was first. He beat me in stage two." Eric replies.

"What is stage two?" Tris asks.

"So, you want to be friends with me to learn more about initiation? Think you're going to get a better rank?" He asks angrily.

Tris stands up and walks over to Eric. She puts her hands on his arms when she speaks. "I don't care about my rank, because as you pointed out I am fucking confident. I don't _need_ your friendship to make it into Dauntless. I _want_ your friendship." She replies, keeping eye contact and slowly rubbing her hands up and down his tattooed forearms. "I'm going to make it into Dauntless because I'm going to work my ass off, not because of any special favors from you, or anyone else for that matter."

She pulls out the stool next to him and sits down, dragging her meal across the island and placing it in front of her. She quietly continues eating. Eric misses the way her hands felt on his skin, so in a bold move he reaches for her hand and threads his fingers with hers. She doesn't pull away, nor does she acknowledge it, she simply continues eating. It's a little awkward for him to eat with his left hand, but he doesn't care, he's enjoying the simplicity of holding her hand.

"Stage two is mental. There's no way to prepare for it like there is in stage one. Although I did extremely well in stage two, he had an advantage that I couldn't compete with. So, he surpassed me." He carefully answers.

"At the end of the day it doesn't really matter though, does it? You're a leader." She replies.

"That's a deeper conversation than we have time for if we're getting back to training on time." He answers and watches as Tris nods her head. He appreciates that she doesn't dig further. While she is bold and extremely brave, she also doesn't try to do anything more than give him little pushes to expand his comfort zone.

"We should be getting back." She says, moving to stand up. Eric reluctantly drops her hand and helps clean their lunch.

"Will you come back for dinner?" He asks before they open his door to leave. She turns to him and smiles.

"Of course I will." She opens his door and they head back to the training room.

Once they're in front of the door he pauses. "You go in first. No need to raise suspicions." He says and she nods before bounding through the door. He gathers his thoughts before heading in.

"We missed you at lunch Tris." Al says as he shifts his weight from foot to foot.

"Yeah, where'd you go? I saw you get a box meal and leave with Sir Asshole." Christina says in a low voice, glancing over at where Eric stands against the wall.

"How many nicknames do you have for him?" Tris asks smiling.

"As many as he deserves." Christina replies. "Did you forget he made me hang over the chasm yesterday?"

"No, and did you expect him not to punish you when he had just given us a speech about the importance of never giving up or conceding?" Tris asks.

"You sound like Will." Christina groans. "He could have found a less deadly way of punishing me."

"Right, because Dauntless is so safety oriented." Tris replies, rolling her eyes.

"Ok, now that you have learned how to fire a gun, you're going to learn how to use one of our other weapons of choice. Each station has knives set up, get to a station and then pay attention." Four announces while all of the initiates scramble to pick a station. Tris finds herself between Christina and Peter.

Four demonstrates the proper way to throw knives and even Eric has to admit it's impressive. He watches as the initiates painfully miss the targets again and again.

"What are you even doing Stiff? Did you forget what a knife is?" Peter asks Tris. Eric turns his attention to them and watches as Tris repeatedly practices the throwing motion without a weapon. Damn, she's smart, he thinks to himself.

Tris picks up a knife and throws it, landing it on the left side of the target. "Hey Peter, did you forget what a target is?" She taunts back at the idiotic Candor transfer.

Eric can't help but be impressed, not only is she one of few who've even gotten a knife to stick, she actually made it onto the target instead of the wood around it. He watches Tris for awhile longer, until the annoying clang of knives hitting the ground becomes unbearable. He watches as the large Candor transfer lazily tosses knives towards the target, not making an effort at all to use proper form. Eric walks quietly over to his station.

"Do we need to move the target closer for you? Or perhaps you'd like to try actually using the form that you've been shown." Eric says to Al in a low menacing tone.

"It slipped." Al replies lamely.

Eric may have let the younger man get away with his lazy half assed attempts had he not had the audacity to lie to him. "It slipped? Go pick them up." He growls.

"You want me to go get them while everyone's throwing?" Al asks.

"Yes, are you afraid?" Eric asks.

"Of getting hit with a flying knife, um yeah." Al replies.

"Everyone stop throwing!" Eric yells. "You, in front of the target." He says to Al.

Al looks horrified as he moves to stand in front of the target. "Four, a little help here?" Eric asks. As much as it pains him to admit it, Four is much better at target practice than he is.

"Is this really necessary?" Four asks, absentmindedly scratching his eyebrow with the tip of a knife.

"Yes. Initiate, you will stand there while Four throws knives at you. If you flinch, you leave Dauntless today. Understand?" Eric asks.

Tris feels panic bubbling as she watches her extremely terrified friend. She sees Four pick up several knives, then turn and square up to take his throwing stance.

"Stop!" Tris yells, Four and Eric both look surprised. "Anyone can stand in front of a target, it doesn't prove anything except that you're trying to bully him, which is a sign of cowardice."

"Well, it shouldn't be too hard for you to take his place then, should it?" Eric replies in a low tone.

Tris strides up to take Al's place in front of the target. "Same rules apply initiate." Eric says keeping eye contact with Tris.

Four throws the first knife, it lands far to the right of Tris. "You can do better than that." Eric jeers.

Four nods and throws the next knife closer to her left side. "You can get closer." Eric replies.

"Want me to give her a little trim?" Four asks, smirking at Eric.

"Yeah, a little off the top." Eric agrees.

Four throws the next knife and it lands right above Tris' head. He quickly throws the next knife and it lands next to her ear, drawing blood.

"Points for bravery, Stiff, but not as many as you lose for mouthing off." Eric announces, walking closer. He puts his hand on her shoulder, "I should keep an eye on you. We train soldiers, not rebels. Everyone out, you're dismissed."

As the room empties, Four speaks.

"You ok?" He asks.

"You cut me." Tris replies.

"I meant to, If I hadn't, you'd still be standing there. Do you think he was going to let you off without a scratch?" He asks.

"Oh, so should I be _thanking_ you?" She replies sarcastically.

"You need to be smart. If I wanted to hurt you, I would." He yells before stalking off. Tris screams out in frustration. She sees the door open and Eric strides in.

"What was that all about?" Tris asks.

"It was meant for Al, not you. He's weak, and I watched him make absolutely no effort to land a throw. Just like he's made no effort to win a fight. He's not cut out for Dauntless, he's a coward. Why did you volunteer, Tris?" Eric asks.

"He's my friend." She replies simply. Eric walks closer and examines her ear.

"Let's go get that cleaned up. I have some antiseptic in my apartment. Then we can get dinner." He replies.

"You still want me to come for dinner?" She asks. He furrows his eyebrows at her urging her to continue her train of thought. "I mean, I did just mouth off to you in front of the whole class." She smiles shyly.

"You got a cut ear in the deal. I think we're even." He replies with a smirk as they walk out of the training room.

As they're making their way to his apartment, they hear someone calling Eric's name.

"Eric, I've been looking for you." A older, blonde woman in Erudite blue calls out.

"Hello Jeanine." Eric replies, sounding unhappy.

"Good evening Eric." She replies, then turns her attention towards Tris. "Beatrice Prior. It's good to see you again. It's nice to see you here in Dauntless, I was concerned when I heard about all of the problems with your aptitude test." Jeanine says.

Eric shifts uncomfortably, watching Tris out of the corner of his eye.

"I have a weak stomach." Tris nervously replies.

"So I heard. It seems as if your test was problematic in many ways. It would have been protocol for you to be retested, however Ms. Wu took it upon herself to manually score you. I just feel that perhaps we weren't as fair with your results as we could have been if you'd had the same computer scoring as your fellow dependents." Jeanine replies evenly.

"I do appreciate the concern Ms. Matthews, however no matter what the test said I'd still have chosen Dauntless. I belong here." Tris replies proudly.

Eric quietly observes the exchange between Jeanine and Tris, wondering what exactly Jeanine's angle is. She never makes a point to speak with initiates, and he can tell that Jeanine isn't just making small talk. She's carefully watching Tris for a reaction.

Jeanine narrows her eyes at Tris then turns her attention to Eric.

"Do you have a few minutes? I promise not to take too much of your time." Jeanine says.

"Yeah, we can go to my office." Eric replies to Jeanine. He looks back at Tris, "I'll find you when I'm done."

Tris watches as Eric and Jeanine walk away, and for the first time since arriving at Dauntless she believes that the strange vision she saw during her aptitude test may actually become a reality.


	3. Chapter 3

**AN: Thank you for all of the reviews, favorites and follows. It's very encouraging!**

 **As a reminder, I don't own these characters or anything Divergent related. All credit goes to the talented Veronica Roth.**

Eric reluctantly led Jeanine to his office, and she made herself comfortable in one of the chairs across from his desk.

"So, what did you need to talk to me about?" Eric bluntly asks Jeanine. She notes the hint of impatience in his voice. Once again, Jeanine thinks that Eric really needs to learn how to speak to people. It's like he was raised by wolves...well, that's not too far off now that she thinks of it.

"How's initiation going so far?" She asks calmly.

"Fine. It's only the second week, but there are initiates that show great potential." Eric replies.

Jeanine sits forward in her chair and raises her eyebrows in surprise. "Potential divergents?" She asks.

Eric hopes the eyeroll he feels coming on will be an internal urge only. "No, potential Dauntless members. You realize that I actually do have to train them, right?" He asks. She's been here less than ten minutes and he already wishes she was gone.

Jeanine narrows her eyes at the boy in front of her and realizes she will have to, once again, remind him of how and why he's a leader. If he wants to act like a child, she'll be happy to put him in his place like one.

"I'm quite aware of what your position entails Eric, but don't forget that Max and I have hand selected you to help me with this special project. You wouldn't want to disappoint your superiors, now would you?" Jeanine asks.

Of course she'd bring up Max.

When Eric was offered his position in leadership, he was unaware of the strings that were pulled to get him there. Although Max still wanted Four in leadership, Jeanine made it abundantly clear that he needed to make room for Eric as well. To say Max was upset would be an understatement, at first he viewed Eric as an arrogant boy who tried entirely too hard to be a hard ass man. However, he was pleasantly surprised at the work ethic the young man demonstrated. Eric was completely committed to Dauntless, and took his role in leadership seriously. He was passionate about training the very best soldiers, and although he was standoffish and very much a loner, it suited him well and he earned the respect of his fellow leaders, especially Max. The head Dauntless leader saw that Eric had the potential for great things, if he just could learn to control his temper and learn some social graces. Max soon realized that Eric had absolutely no idea that Jeanine was the only reason he'd been put into leadership.

Eric was happy in leadership, and it was reflected in his work. He was irate when he learned of Jeanine's role in his leadership appointment, however she and Max were able to spin it to make it look like something to be proud of. He was hand selected, and Jeanine knew exactly how to stroke his ego. She quickly recognized what Eric needed, he had no father in his life, and his mother was an alcoholic who's promiscuity was well known in Erudite. Even if she was in a state of mind to raise a child in a two parent household, she wouldn't have a clue who Eric's father even was. Eric practically raised himself, and Jeanine learned quickly that he could be easily groomed with the right type of attention and praise. She took the boy under her wing when he was fourteen, and as a result she earned his trust. She knew Eric wanted to be as far away from his drunk mother and the bullying of his fellow dependents, and she started grooming him for Dauntless knowing that he'd one day play an invaluable role in her plan.

"No, I wouldn't." Eric replied quietly.

"I'm quite impressed to see you with Beatrice Prior. I take it you've noticed she has the signs of being a divergent." She says, watching Eric intently for his reaction.

Eric's mind was racing, but he betrayed no emotion. "I am interested in her development as a soldier. I've not seen any behavior that suggests she's divergent." He replies calmly.

"Her results were entered manually as Dauntless, and it was noted that she was in testing for almost two hours. When I inquired further, I was told the serum made her extremely ill, and her simulation had to be manually stopped as a result. Apparently the administrator analyzed Beatrice's choices herself, and established she was Dauntless. Don't you find it odd that a girl from Abnegation would end up with Dauntless results?" She asks.

"Not with this transfer. She's just as Dauntless as any full member. I've noticed she does have a weak stomach, she often has to spend mealtime away from the cafeteria to deal with various stomach issues." Eric mentally praises himself for thinking of a lie that quickly. "She's impressive in training, great with weapons and she's working hard to improve physically." He replies.

"Keep a close eye on her." Jeanine says and Eric knows any further discussion regarding Tris is over.

"The second stage is where we'll see more signs, if we have any divergents I'll find them." Eric replies, and Jeanine smiles. He knows at least for now he's said the right things.

"Very well then, I look forward to our next update. Eric, I need to be sure your focus is on the bigger picture, I'm sure Max has filled you in on our plans, correct?" She says.

"Actually, no. He just keeps calling it a project, just like you." He replies, getting more and more frustrated with this cryptic conversation.

"Eric, the project is huge. I need to know I can trust you. So far, Max has had very high praise for you. Can I trust that you are on our side?" Jeanine asks.

"Yes, of course." He replies, curiosity peaked.

"Abnegation controls the government by themselves, now do you find that to be fair?" She asks.

He thinks about his answer. There are five factions, all that should have an equal part in maintaining the city and making the laws, the system is flawed but not unable to be fixed.

"I can see the disadvantage of having all of the government in one faction." Eric chose his words carefully, he desperately wanted Jeanine to finally show her hand.

"Precisely. This is why we are going to overthrow Abnegation." She replied.

"Overthrow them? How?" Eric asked.

"We've had a breakthrough of sorts, our scientists have developed a serum that is a long range mind control. Once administered, we can essentially program the recipient via computer software. They are in a sim, and unaware. It's a thing of beauty, Eric." Jeanine is obviously very proud of her work.

The Erudite in Eric is impressed with what she's explained, but the Dauntless in him is worried about how exactly she plans on pulling this off. He's also surprised that Max is going along with this plan, as the elder Dauntless leader doesn't seem to be one to take kindly to another faction trying to usurp his tight control on Dauntless.

"You're going to inject the Dauntless." Eric says, making a statement and not asking a question.

"Yes. Max has already arranged for the serum and equipment to be delivered. The serum will be introduced as a tracking device, explained as a way to ensure that Dauntless can find any soldiers in the field, a safety measure of sorts. The only downside is that this serum doesn't work on divergents. That's where you'll be essential. I still need divergents for testing, however we've found that the lower percentage of divergence the less accurate the test subject. Ideally, finding a 100% divergent would be key, however anything over 70% could be ideal." Jeanine replies with a bright smile.

"I see. How exactly am I to know a percentage though?" Eric asks, still confused on what her plan is for him.

"You'll be receiving a new device, a scanner of sorts. It's so easy to use, it's literally point and click. You'll see." Jeanine's smile is wide, she's barely able to contain her excitement.

"So, my job is to continue to bring you divergents for testing, and once I get the device you spoke of I'll only bring you the ones who are 70% divergent or more?" Eric asks.

"Yes, exactly." She replies.

"What will I do with those who are below the threshold?" Eric asks.

"Eliminate them." Jeanine replies.

"Kill them?" He clarifies.

"Yes. They are of no use to our research, and dangerous to our faction system as a whole. Abnegation has the highest concentration of divergents, which is why I'm extremely interested in both Tobias Eaton and Beatrice Prior. It's rare for an Abnegation dependent to leave, and even more so for them to transfer to Dauntless. You can certainly see the irony in both of them, can you not?" She asks.

"Well, yes, it's definitely unusual." Eric's head is spinning, and now that he finally knows exactly what Max and Jeanine have planned he wishes he could push the knowledge from his mind. "These divergents, what will you do when you're finished testing them?" He asks.

"It's not what _I_ will do with them, as you well know I'm certainly not a trained soldier. I trust that you can eliminate them as well. It'd be no different than your elimination of the lesser divergents, and by now you must understand that divergents have _no place_ in our society." She actually smiles as she says this. "I trust that you now understand our goals, and that you'll keep a close eye on Miss Prior?" She asks.

"Yes ma'am." Eric replies.

"Excellent! I've always known you had the potential to be someone extraordinary. You'll have a high rank in my new government, you and Max will be right beside me. Thank you for making time for me after hours."

Eric simply nods and he follows Jeanine out of his office, locking his door behind them.

"I need to see Max again before leaving. Enjoy your evening Eric." Jeanine says before turning on her heel towards Max's office.

"Thank goodness." Eric mumbles as he makes his way downstairs. He realizes he's not sure where Tris would be waiting for him, so he decided to check the cafeteria first. Eric takes a quick glance around the room and doesn't see Tris, although he sees the group that Tris usually spends time with sitting at a table.

He makes his way to the initiate dorms and he finds Tris inside alone, sleeping on her bunk. He's torn between waking her and leaving her be. He makes a quick decision to wake her, after all she needed to eat. He walks over to her and gently nudges her shoulder. She opens her eyes and blinks a few times.

"Hey." She says.

"Hey. I wasn't sure if I should wake you. Did you eat?" Eric asks.

"No, I was waiting for you." She replies and Eric can't help surpressing a small smile. He offers her his hand and she grabs it, pulling her to a standing position. She doesn't immediately drop his hand, instead she gives it a quick squeeze before reluctantly dropping it.

"We missed dinner. Sorry about the meeting, it was unexpected. I can see what we can scrounge up at my apartment." Eric says and Tris nods in agreement.

They walk down the back hallway, and take the seldom used back staircases to the leaders floor. Eric unlocks his door and holds it open for Tris.

"Let's clean that ear up." Eric says, leading Tris to his bathroom. He pats the counter, and Tris hops up.

"Are you ok?" She asks as he finds what he needs out of his medicine cabinet.

"Yeah." He answers without making eye contact. He hears her sigh softly, but she thankfully doesn't press.

Eric pushes Tris' hair off her shoulder and tucks some stray strands behind her ear. He notices a slight shiver when he touches her and for a moment he wonders if he did something wrong.

"I'm sorry." He says, unsure how comfortable Tris is due to her Abnegation upbringing.

Tris quirks her eyebrow and scowls slightly. "Why are you apologizing?"

"I don't want to make you uncomfortable. I mean, you were Abnegation and all." He replies.

"I _was._ Past tense. I'm going to be Dauntless." She says. "I'm not a Stiff, remember?" She smirks.

"You were never a Stiff." Eric chuckles as he cleans her ear carefully. "This looks pretty superficial, shouldn't even scar."

"Well damn. I was looking forward to my first scar." She grins and Eric shakes his head at her.

"You have plenty of time for that." Eric replies as Tris slips off the counter.

Once again, Eric is aware of their close proximity and he is suddenly very nervous. He wipes his sweaty palms on his pants. Tris and Eric exit the bathroom and head to the kitchen.

"So, I have an important question." He asks as she raises an eyebrow at him. "What do you want for dinner?" Eric asks with a smirk and Tris opens his refrigerator.

"You have no food, Eric." She sighs.

"I may not have thought this through properly." He replies. "I have lots of cereal." He says hopefully.

"Cereal it is." Tris replies as she grabs the milk.

They set up everything they need at the island, eating cereal and enjoying their easy banter. Eric automatically reaches for her hand, and just like at lunch she allows him to thread their fingers together without reacting. Tris secretly loves the fact that Eric holds her hand when they share meals together. She notices he absentmindedly rubs his thumb across her hand as they talk and eat.

"We have a little over two hours until curfew. Want to watch some TV?" He asks and she nods. They take their bowls to the sink, clean up their impromptu dinner and sit down on Eric's oversized couch. Tris reaches for Eric's hand, threading their fingers together. He doesn't even try to suppress his smile, and he is happy that Tris is taking the initiative to show him affection. He finds an old movie that peaks her interest and they begin watching it.

"I didn't realize that Dauntless and Erudite worked so closely together." Tris says nonchalantly.

"What are you talking about?" Eric asks, caught off guard by her statement.

"Well, Jeanine Matthews wanted to meet with you. It must have been important for her to actually come here instead of call." Tris explains.

"You're awfully curious about things. Are you sure you're not Erudite?" He replies with a smirk. He feels Tris stiffen next to him, and she moves her hand away from his.

"I should go." She says nervously.

"Tris, what's wrong?" Eric asks. He notices she seems extremely nervous about Jeanine's presence in Dauntless.

"Nothing. I just didn't want to overstay my welcome." She replies without looking at Eric.

"You're not. I like having you here." Eric replies. Tris remains standing, glancing towards the front door. "If you really want to leave, I'll walk you back." He relents.

Tris nods and Eric sighs as he stands. He pulls his boots on and runs a hand through his hair in frustration. He's never seen Tris this nervous in the two weeks he's known her.

"Did I do something wrong?" He finally asks.

Tris think about how to answer. Truth be told, Jeanine's surprise visit has rattled her, especially when she purposely brought up her test results. All can she think about is her strange aptitude test. Tris had visited Tori and talked, but they had to be extremely cryptic and guarded during their brief conversation. Tori still feels like Tris shouldn't continue her friendship with Eric, explaining that in the two years since he transferred she couldn't find anything redeeming about him.

"No. You didn't, I'm just on edge about starting stage two." Tris replies.

"Can I trust you?" Eric asks and it catches her off guard. Is he about to tell her about Jeanine?

"Of course." Tris replies.

"Tonight, Four and I will be waking all of the initiates, both transfers and Dauntless born, for a field trip. A good field trip. A fun field trip." He says with a smile.

Its not exactly what Tris was expecting, but she can tell by Eric's enthusiasm that this field trip is important to him. The fact that he's sharing this information with her makes her feel marginally better.

"Based on your smile, I have a feeling I'm going to like this field trip." She smiles.

"I can promise you that you'll like it." He replies.

Eric can see Tris relax, and he can feel his own nervousness subside. She shakes her head slightly before sitting back down next to him. Eric sneaks sideways glances at her, and she seems to be much calmer. He purposely places his hand next to hers on the sofa, and he's pleased when she scoots hers closer and hooks her pinky with his. He rolls his eyes and just grabs her hand and she scoots closer. After a few minutes, she rests her head on his shoulder. Eric, feeling extremely brave, moves his hand so he can put his arm around her and she leans in, angling her body closer to his and resting her head near his chest. Tris is nervous, but she's also extremely comfortable with the level of affection that she and Eric share.

Tris absentmindedly starts playing with Eric's hair, a gesture that feels incredibly nice to Eric. He sighs contentedly as he relaxes at her touch.

"That feels incredible." He says and she glances up at him. "Seriously. It feels amazing. Don't stop." He grins.

"My mom always would play with my hair, it was the easiest way to relax me if I was upset or sick." She replies.

"It sounds like you were close to your parents." Eric says.

"I was, my mom especially. My dad worked a lot, he's in the government so he would often have meetings and work that demanded his attention. My brother Caleb and I were close in age, but not so much as siblings. He chose this year too, and he transferred to Erudite." She says.

Eric immediately realizes that her father is Andrew Prior, and her brother Caleb is an initiate that Jeanine has praised highly during previous meetings, something he should have put together on his own before now. Her father is one of Jeanine's targets, and her brother may very well be helping Jeanine.

"Were you close to your family?" Tris asks, breaking his train of thought.

"No." He replies, unsure if he's ready to continue.

Tris can tell that she's hit a nerve with asking about his family. "You don't have to talk about anything you don't want to." She says quietly.

"I've just never talked much about my life back in Erudite. I don't want you to think less of me." He replies.

Tris looks up at Eric and meets his eyes. "You can tell me anything. I'm not here to judge you."

She can see the myriad of emotions in his stormy grey eyes. She's noticed that his eyes seem to change with his moods, sometimes they are completely grey like she sees now, and others they are more blue. Eric is gazing at her intensely, and she can almost hear him thinking. She runs her fingers through his long hair, and his expression softens a bit.

"My mom drank, a lot, all the time. I guess she's what you'd consider to be an alcoholic. She never knew who my dad is. Not even able to narrow down the possibilities." Eric chuckles nervously. "My mom didn't really like being a mom, so I was left alone a lot, or with her friends, or whatever boyfriend/daddy of the week. My childhood sucked, kids at school were the worst, always talking shit about my mom and making fun of me because I had no dad. I couldn't wait to leave Erudite." Eric says. "I knew I wanted to come here, no matter what the aptitude test said."

"You are Dauntless, I see that about you, from the first time I saw you. I wish you had of had a better childhood, but no matter what you went though I think you're a great person. You're a leader, you're respected here and you are someone to be proud of." Tris says.

"Thank you." Eric says. Tris wraps her arms around him and embraces him, which he happily returns. They sit together on the couch, snuggled together and quietly watching a movie until the alarm sounds on Eric's cell phone.

"Time for me to go." Tris says as she stretches.

"I'll walk you back." Eric replies as he laces his boots.

As they leave the apartment, Eric grabs Tris' hand. She looks up in surprise.

"Sorry." He replies, but she only squeezes his hand to avoid breaking contact.

"It's ok, we'll be careful." She says with a smile.

Tris stops walking as they reach the corridor with the initiate dorms. "You'd better not come down here. I'll see you later." She smiles and Eric gives her a quick grin.

"Indeed you will. Sleep tight." Eric squeezes her hand and before he walks away Tris surprises him by kissing his cheek. She quickly turns away and jogs to the dorm, leaving Eric stunned. Finally, he walks away, heading back to his apartment with a small smile on his face.

As soon as Tris walks back into the dorm, Christina catches her eye. She follows her gaze all the way to her bunk, and Christina sits on her bunk facing Tris.

"Where have you been? I thought you were taking a nap?" Christina asks.

"I did take a nap, but when I woke up I was hungry so I ate and then just kinda walked around and lost track of time. What did you do tonight?" Tris replies, knowing if she can get her friend talking about herself, she may not have to answer too many questions. The look on Christina's face shows that she doesn't believe her, but soon the look fades into something different.

"Can you be a girl for a second?" Christina asks, bouncing slightly on her bunk.

"I'm always a girl." Tris replies with a smirk.

"I'm serious!" Christina admonishes.

Tris twirls her hair around her finger. "Ok, spill!"

"Will kissed me." She whispers.

"Really?! When?!" Tris exclaims.

"You can be a girl!" Christina giggles. "After dinner. We went for a walk, and he just stopped walking and turned towards me and kissed me."

"What did you do?" Tris asks.

"I kissed him back. It was so awesome. Then we just kept walking. He held my hand too." She smiles.

"How did you know you liked him like that?" Tris asks.

"I just knew. We are always together, we eat every meal next to each other, and we always were touching in some way. I mean, we just kind of had these looks too. It's hard to explain." She replies, stumbling over her words but beaming the entire time.

"I'm really happy for you two. You're perfect for each other." She smiles.

"Thank you! Now, we just need to find you the perfect man. You know Al really likes you." Christina says and Tris shakes her head.

"He's just my friend, I don't like him like that."

"What about Four? He's super hot, and I see him checking you out." She presses.

"He's our instructor Chris, he's supposed to watch us." Tris replies with an eyeroll.

"Well, Tris, there has to be someone. You can't just practice, train and sleep. And besides our little group, the only person I ever see you interact with is Eric." Christina stops talking and Tris swears she can see the light bulb pop up above the other girls head. "Oh my gosh, how am I so blind? You like Eric." Christina says, much too loud for Tris' liking.

"Christina, shhhhh! Don't be so loud!" Tris whisper yells.

"You like him. You're not denying it." She whispers back.

"He's a leader..." Tris argues weakly.

"You were with him tonight, weren't you?" Christina asks.

"You have to promise me to keep this conversation between us. I mean it Chris." Tris says quietly and Christina nods, scooting directly next to Tris.

"I promise, it's just between us." She replies.

"It's not what you think, but yes I was with him tonight. We've become friends, he's very much a loner and we've just started spending time together. I had dinner with him, and then we watched TV together." Tris explains.

"Has anything happened? I really think he likes you. He's different with you in training, always watching you, he actually touches you. I know body language, and he's definitely more than just friendly with you." She smiles.

"We hold hands." Tris whispers back. "And tonight while we were watching a movie he put his arm around me and we kind of cuddled. He walked me back here and I kissed his cheek."

"Aww! That's adorable. Do you want something more to happen?" Christina asks.

"I don't know. It makes me nervous to think about it. I've never had a boyfriend before, I've actually never so much as even held hands with a boy before Eric." She answers.

"Oh my gosh, how?!" Christina whisper yells.

"Abnegation, remember?" Tris smiles and Christina shakes her head. "I just don't want people to think I'm trying to get a better rank. I really enjoy spending time with him, not because he's a leader."

"Well I definitely know you wouldn't do anything like that, but I can understand where you're coming from. Peter always seems to find some reason to single you out. No need to give him extra ammunition." She replies. "Your secret is safe with me."

"Thanks Chris."

"You're welcome. Just know you can talk to me about him, you know for advice or just boy stuff. I guess we should try to get some sleep." Christina hugs Tris before scooting over to her bunk. Tris is almost too excited to sleep, thinking about the field trip that Eric promised tonight.


	4. Chapter 4

**AN: Thanks for all the reviews and follows. I'm having a lot of fun writing about a younger and different Eric and Tris. Hope you enjoy!**

The initiates are woken by the sound of a pipe banging on the metal bunk. Tris groans, but jumps out of bed at the noise.

"Wake up. We're going on a field trip. Be at the train in fifteen minutes." Four announces and quickly leaves the room.

"What are we doing?" Christina whispers to Tris.

"I don't know, Eric warned me there'd be a field trip, but he didn't tell me what it was." Tris whispers.

"They're going to take us out as far as they can from Dauntless and make us find our way back." Will says as he approaches the two young women.

Tris scowls at Will. "Is this based on actual knowledge, or an overactive imagination?"

"I'll never tell." Will replies with a grin. Christina throws a balled up sock at him and the trio laughs.

"They wouldn't really just leave us somewhere, would they?" Al asks as he walks up behind them.

"They probably would. But, I have a feeling this trip is going to be fun." Tris replies. Christina catches her eye and Tris winks at her.

"Do you know something we don't know?" Will asks.

"I'll never tell." Tris replies with a smirk and Will sticks his tongue out at her. Al lets out a bark of laughter, causing their foursome to all laugh together.

The initiates all hurry to the train platform, everyone speculating on what was going to happen. The Dauntless born initiates all looked smug, knowing exactly what was in store for everyone tonight.

The excitement on the train was evident, and when Eric called out to get everyone's attention, the train car quickly quieted down.

"Tonight, we will participate in a Dauntless tradition, we will be playing capture the flag using these paintball guns. This is a team building excercise, with two teams and Four and I will be your captains." Eric says. He gestures to Four to pick first.

"Don't do me any favors, you can pick." Four replies with a smirk.

"Fine. I want the Stiff." Eric replies. The shock is evident on Four's face. Everyone watches as Tris joins Eric's side. Four has spent all of initiation trying to get to know Tris better, finding himself attracted to the fiery Abnegation transfer. She keeps a low profile, and he notices she's never around during meal times. His curiosity has gotten the best of him, but he's yet to be able to pinpoint her movements using the cameras in the control room. Eric picking her for his team, especially as his first pick, peaks his curiosity even more. He's caught the two of them glancing at each other during training, and Eric isn't as closed off and assholish towards her in particular, but never in a million years would he have suspected them of being friends. Eric doesn't have friends, and from what he's observed of Tris she seems to keep her socializing to a very minimum.

Tris briefly glances at her friends, and while Chris and Will are a absorbed in each other, Al looks at Tris with furrowed eyebrows, his lips slightly turned down in a frown. Tris looks away, not feeling comfortable with his staring.

"I'll take Edward." Four replies.

Four and Eric continue picking teams, leaving Eric with Tris, Peter, Drew, Molly, Uriah, Lynn, Marlene and Justin. Four has Edward, Christina, Will, Al, Myra, Cadence, Tara and Tyson on his team. Eric's team exits the train first, followed by Four's team.

Eric leads his team to a wooded area, walking through until they've found a clearing. "Ok, what's our plan?" He asks.

The initiates all start talking over each other, and a frustrated Eric leans against a tree and let's them argue while he loads his paintball gun. He doesn't even notice at first when Tris starts to walk away from the group and towards the clock tower. He grabs his gun and jogs to catch up to her.

"Where are you going?" He asks.

"Higher ground. We need to be able to see their flag, and all of these trees are blocking my view." She replies.

He nods. "Good idea. I'll come with you, the stairs in that place are dangerous." He replies.

Tris and Eric begin to climb the steep staircase all the way to the top of the tower. Eric's thoughts are consumed by the qualities he's beginning to see more prominently in his friend. She's obviously very brave, as proven by her jumping first and the fact that he's following her up a relatively frightening set of stairs. Her selflessness has been evident many times, whether it be stepping up for Al, or the way she sacrifices her own happiness at times to ensure he's comfortable. Tris has always been smart, but her logic in seeking higher ground to scout out the other team is showing as well. Jeanine has been hounding him relentlessly to find divergents for her, she's convinced they are rebels who don't fit in to society and they will ruin the faction system. She's hell bent on destroying the divergents, in any way she can. Eric hasn't been very interested in what her issues with divergents are, he simply wanted to keep Max and Jeanine happy in order to earn his place in leadership, but with his growing affection towards Tris he feels he needs to pay closer attention to the potential danger she's in.

His thoughts are interrupted by Tris' voice. "Look!" She exclaims, pointing out of a window on the landing they've stopped on. Eric leans closer so he can follow her pointed finger. He sees a green glow coming from one of the carts on the old ferris wheel.

"Found it." She grins. She digs in Eric's vest pocket for their teams orange flag. "Lets leave this up here and go get their flag." They hide their flag under a crate in the landing and start making their way down the stairs.

Once they've rejoined their team, questions start getting fired at them. Eric holds his hand up to silence his team.

"Tris has spotted their flag, and we've placed ours in the clock tower." Eric says in a low voice. "Now we need our plan."

"We need four people here to protect our flag. Two on the ground and two inside the tower." Tris says.

"Who made you the leader?" Molly sneers.

"No one else has stepped up, and she is the one who came up with a plan to find their flag while you dumbasses were arguing about it." Lynn replies with an eyeroll.

"Ok Tris, who goes where?" Uriah asks with a grin.

"Who wants to protect the flag?" Tris asks. Peter, Drew, Molly and Justin volunteer, with Peter and Molly quickly heading inside the tower.

"The rest of us will concentrate on getting their flag." Eric replies.

Tris, Eric, Lynn, Marlene and Uriah begin their walk towards the ferris wheel. Eric, Lynn and Tris split towards the left while Marlene and Uriah take the right. As soon as they reach the amusement park, shots break out.

"They've got snipers in a cart on the ferris wheel." Uriah exclaims.

"Lynn, you and Uriah are our best shots. Get in place and work on taking out the snipers." Eric commands. "We need coverage on the ground, but someone needs to climb the wheel."

"I'll go. Cover me." Tris replies.

"Be careful." He whispers as he grabs her arm. She grins at him before turning away.

Eric covers Tris as she makes her way to the wheel, taking out two of Fours's team. Suddenly, he sees someone climbing the wheel behind Tris. He looks closer and can't believe what he's seeing. It's Four, who he knows has an extreme fear of heights. Eric looks through his scope and watches Four, noticing that the other man doesn't have his paintball gun. Eric knows it would be dangerous to shoot at Four, and the distraction of a shot could cause Tris to misstep as well. He just continues to watch the two interact, feeling pangs of jealousy.

"Who's left?" Uriah asks Eric, startling him.

"Tris, you and me. I assume Four since he's climbing the damn wheel behind Tris." Eric replies.

"Nah, Four's out. Shot him myself." He replies with a huge smile. "We think he may only have Edward left. We have Lynn and Peter guarding the tower and it doesn't even matter now... game over!" Uriah points.

Eric turns his attention towards the wheel and sees Tris happily waving the green flag. Eric can't help but be proud, but he's still uncomfortable with Four's close proximity to Tris.

Tris can't contain her excitement, her team won the game and she has the flag in her hand. Climbing the Ferris wheel was exhilarating, but she was nervous to find Four following her. She thought he was going to try to shoot her, but she realized he was unarmed. Not only was he out of the game, he is also afraid of heights. Tris and Four were in one of the cars on the ride, and although Tris was ready to make the descent down, Four obviously needed a moment to catch his breath.

"Why did you follow me up here if you're afraid of heights?" Tris asks.

"I'm in charge of all initiates, so I couldn't just leave you climbing this thing unattended." He replies.

"Eric was covering me from the ground." Tris replies, pointing down to the other man.

"How exactly could he have helped you from down there if you were to slip?" Four asks and Tris shakes her head.

"Fine, but I still didn't need your help, especially when you are obviously terrified." She replies. "Are you ok?"

"Yeah, peachy." He replies, and Tris laughs. Four can't help but smile at her reaction. "Ok, maybe it wasn't my greatest idea. Looks like Eric is getting impatient." Four gestures toward where Eric is standing on the ground watching the two closely.

"Like I said, he was covering me." Tris replies.

"The two of you seem to talk a lot." He comments.

"He's my leader, and I guess kind of my instructor along with you. I mean of course we speak to each other. He never told me I couldn't speak to him, unlike another instructor I know." She smirks.

"Touché." Four laughs, but then his expression turns serious. "He doesn't typically have any friends, or really talk to anyone he doesn't have to as a rule. It's just an observation." He replies. "Besides, he's dangerous."

"Dangerous? He seems pretty harmless. Maybe a bit of a jerk at times, and definitely a loner, but certainly not dangerous."

"Yes, dangerous, especially to certain types of people. Those with something to hide." Four replies, studying Tris for a reaction. He's noticed that Tris exhibits signs of divergence, between her selflessness and bravery, her intelligence and logic also comes through quite often. He knows when they start stage two tomorrow it's likely her divergence will become obvious and he's worried for her.

Tris studies the boy in front of her nervously. This is the first time anyone has suggested they know about her divergence, and Tori's warning is fresh in her mind. Her curious nature makes her want to find out exactly what it is that Four knows, but he's not the person she needs to be focusing on.

"It's a good thing I have nothing to hide." Tris replies easily. "Come on, let's head down." And before Four can argue, she's left the car and has begun the climb down. Four chastises himself for squandering the opportunity. He doesn't often find Tris alone, and the first real chance he's gotten to talk to her he scared her away. He sighs and begins the climb down behind her. He watches sadly as Tris hits the ground and takes off running in the direction he last saw Eric.

Once Tris has made it back to solid ground she heads over to where Eric is waiting for her. He greets her with a genuine smile and she throws her arms around him. Eric is momentarily stunned, but he quickly recovers and he returns her hug.

"You did great tonight." He says to the excited girl. They begin walking towards the train and Eric can feel Four's glare on him as he and Tris make it to the platform.

Tris is standing near Eric waiting for the train, careful to leave space between them when suddenly she is picked up and tossed over someone's shoulder. Eric scowls at the scene before him, the big Candor Al is jogging around with Tris on his shoulder.

"You are just too good at everything." Al says with a nervous chuckle.

"Put me down!" Tris calls from over his shoulder, and she laughs while gently punching him on his back.

"Al's just mad that he got taken out by a girl." Lynn says as she smirks in their direction.

"A girl who is deadlier than most men in Dauntless." Marlene replies. Al finally sets Tris back down on her feet, but soon she is swooped up again.

"Trissy! You were so kick ass, climbing that wheel like a pro!" Uriah yells, picking Tris up and spinning her in a circle. "Wanna take a shortcut back to the compound?" He wiggles his eyebrows.

"Sure, but only if you put me down now." She replies with a laugh. Uriah sets her down and throws an arm over her shoulder. Tris glances back at Eric and he raises an eyebrow at her. As she and Uriah begin to walk away, she glances over her shoulder again at Eric and gestures for him to come with her. Eric nods his head, knowing exactly what the Dauntless born were up to. He jogs to catch up with Tris, finally ready to experience something new, especially if it's with her. Tris scoots out from under Uriah's arm, and the young man jogs ahead to catch up with Marlene and Lynn, leaving Tris and Eric alone.

"Do you have any idea where they're taking us?" Tris asks.

"Maybe." Eric answers with a grin.

"What is it?" Tris asks excitedly.

"Another Dauntless tradition." He answers.

"Is it fun?" She asks.

"I don't know, I've never done it." He replies honestly.

"Seriously? You've been here two years though."

"I've been busy." He shrugs. Tris walks closer to him and brushes her hand against his. He glances behind them and notices they are at the back of their group. Eric plants a quick kiss on Tris' cheek and grins when he sees the shock on her face.

Everyone was surprised to see the Stiff at the Hancock building, but what really shocked the group was that Eric was with her. Eric, the abrasive and reclusive leader, was actually willing to not only do something fun but also he seems to be enjoying her company. Uriah's older brother Zeke was the unofficial leader of the group, and he not only welcomed the two newcomers, he even decided to let them go first.

Eric was the first to take the ride down to the ground. Ziplining was one of the Dauntless traditions he's always wanted to take part in, but his standoffish nature has kept him from making any friends. As soon as he begins his descent, he feels exhilarated. The wind is tearing through his hair, likely to cause many knots and tangles, but he doesn't even care. He puts his arms out, and for several seconds it feels just like he's flying. He pulls his brake when he's close, and a few Dauntless are there to help him down. He recognizes Jazz, an initiate from his training class.

"Eric, never thought I'd see you out here man. Good to see you out and about." Jazz says and Eric gives him a nod.

He soon hears whistles and shouts, and he looks up and sees Tris. Her hair is flying around, her arms spread and she's not making the first sound. He notices that she soon is having problems reaching her brake. The Dauntless on the ground are all shouting for her to pull the brake, and for a moment Eric is truly panicked. Tris recovers and yanks on the rope, and finally she stops mere inches from the end of the line. Eric quickly moves to her and helps her down. She falls into his arms and they hold on to each other tightly.

"Did you like that?" Eric asks.

"It was amazing, can we go again?" She replies against his cheek. She is reluctant to let him go, so for now they blend into the crowd while Eric embraces her from behind.

"We can definitely go again. That was something else, for sure." He says close to her ear as they watch another person flying down the line, screaming the entire time. Eric feels Tris' laughter when the screaming figure gets closer and he looks up and sees its Uriah. He and Tris help the boy down, and Uriah picks Tris up and spins her in a circle.

"Trissy! That was so much fun!" Uriah yells to Tris, both soon laughing.

"Yes it was, I can't wait to go again." Tris replies as he finally sets her back on her feet. It's then that he notices Eric standing there.

"Hey boss man, your first time?" Uriah asks.

"Yeah." Eric replies and Tris smiles at him.

"Well welcome to the club. Hope to see you again." The younger boy replies and Eric nods. Eric watches the way Uriah interacts with Tris, and he gets the familiar pangs of jealousy. It's obvious the boy is flirting, whether it be because he likes her because he's a relentless flirt like his brother, but either way Eric doesn't like it. He moves closer to Tris, and she moves so Eric is almost between her and Uriah.

Eric and Tris stayed until everyone had made their descent, and when they parted from the group it was with promises to get together for another trip down very soon. He couldn't help but watch Tris, her hair was messy from the wind and her smile was wide, he realized he'd never seen anyone as beautiful as she looked right now. As happy as he was to be walking next to her while holding her hand, he knew he wanted more from her, and the thought terrified him. He noticed that the cut on her ear had started bleeding again, and he pulled her to a stop so he could take a closer look.

"We should probably clean that again. All of the activity from tonight seems to have reopened it a bit." He says.

Tris feels her breath hitch at Eric's touch, and she has to admit that her initial plans of befriending the boy from her vision have evolved into something more. She craves his touch, and she knows that she wants more than just a friendship with him.

"I could stop by the infirmary and have them take care of it. I've invaded your space enough already." She replies with a smile.

"I welcome the invasion." He grins as he reaches for her hand and begins walking into the compound and towards his apartment. He doesn't try to put any space between them this time, and Tris shows no hesitation with their public hand holding. Even though they use the back staircases, there are more people than usual milling about at this hour, and the chances they could be seen are greater.

They make it back to his apartment without incident, and he leads Tris back to his bathroom so he can tend to her ear. She hops on the counter without being asked, swinging her feet while he gathers his supplies.

"Maybe I'll get my cool scar after all." She muses with a grin as Eric gently cleans her cut and applies an antibiotic ointment.

"Not if I can help it. You're all done." He replies as he begins to put everything away.

When he turns he and Tris are face to face. He gets the same feeling he had before when they were standing so close in the stairwell, but this time there's no one to interrupt them. He slightly leans in but Tris moves away from him.

Eric immediately becomes frustrated. Of course, she's not in to him. Why would he try to kiss the first friend he's managed to make? He mentally chastises himself as he hurriedly cleans up his mess.

"Hey, don't be upset." Tris says as she grabs his hand.

"I shouldn't have tried. We're friends." He shakes his head, pulling his hand away. "I should probably get you back to the dorms."

"I don't want to leave. Please don't be mad at me." She pleads.

"I'm not mad, I'm just frustrated. I thought there was something between us, you know with the hand holding and cuddling and the way we are together. Obviously I am misreading the situation." He replies. Tris can hear the frustration in his voice, and she notices he will barely look at her.

"Eric, I didn't turn away because I didn't want you to kiss me. I turned away because I didn't want my first kiss to be in a bathroom." She shyly smiles, and he can see the blush on her cheeks. She quickly walks out of the bathroom.

"Oh." Eric replies nervously. "Yours too?" He asks as he follows Tris into his kitchen.

"You mean you've never kissed anyone either?" Tris hesitantly asks.

"Um, no. You're kind of my first actual friend. I don't like people as a general rule, and people don't tend to like me very much either, so that kind of keeps me from touching anyone." He chuckles nervously.

"Wow. I just thought because you're older than me you'd have, well, experiences." Tris blushes and Eric realizes he really likes seeing her nervous for a change.

"You're blushing." He says with a smile.

"Shut up." She replies with a pout and it makes Eric laugh. "So, are you a virgin?" She quietly asks.

"Well, yeah, kind of goes hand in hand with never kissing anyone doesn't it?" He replies. "Are you?"

"I am. I didn't want to assume, and well again you're older so maybe I did have some preconceived notions." Tris replies.

"Tris, I'm only two years older than you." Eric replies with a smile.

"You're really handsome when you smile. You should do it more often."

"For you, I will. Outside of this apartment, not so much." He grins at her.

"Why are you such a hard ass when you're out in public?" Tris asks.

"It was easier to get respect that way. Being a sixteen year old in the leader in training program is one thing, but then to be thrust into full leadership when I was barely seventeen was another story all together. Everyone viewed me as some punk kid, people would say the most ridiculous things to me too. I had to toughen up, you know the whole having a thick skin and all. It's just easier this way." Eric explains.

"It's possible to earn respect without being cruel. Or closed off. Or unapproachable." She replies quietly. "People are afraid of you."

"You aren't afraid of me, are you?"

"No. I think you're a nice person underneath this thick skin you've been forced to grow." She replies.

Silence falls between them and they just glance at each other. She's leaning casually against his counter, and he stands next to her. She wants him to kiss her, he knows he heard that right when she was explaining herself earlier. He needs to try again.

"I just noticed we're not in the bathroom anymore." He says, inching closer to her. She turns so she's facing him.

"Now that I know you're about to do it I'm so nervous." She smiles.

"Me too." Eric replies. He looks down at the floor and when he looks back up Tris has closed the space between them.

He reaches out and places one hand on her cheek, enjoying the soft feel of her skin beneath his rough hand. He takes a deep breath, then leans in and gently puts his lips on hers.

Neither of them have anything to compare this to, but they both feel the electricity that seems to be passing through them. They slowly move their lips against each other's in sync. Eric feels Tris put her arms around his waist, and he moves his other hand to the back of her neck. When she briefly parts her lips, he slips his tongue to hers and she hesitantly tangles her tongue with his. They quickly find their rhythm, and even though this is their first kiss it feels like they've kissed each other hundreds of times before. When Eric finally realizes he needs to breathe, he reluctantly ends their kiss. He wraps his arms around her shoulders and rests his head against her forehead.

"Wow." Tris says.

"Yeah, wow is right." Eric replies. "That was great. I already want to do that again."

"We can definitely do that again." Tris says leaning towards Eric as she captures his lips with hers. They kiss again, less tentatively than their first time, until breathing becomes an issue.

"Does this mean you're my girlfriend?" Eric asks bluntly as soon as they break apart, making Tris laugh. "What?" He scowls.

"For a former Erudite, sometimes eloquence completely evades you." She smiles.

"Well, it's not like I know how to do these things. And as you like to point out, I _was_ Erudite, past tense. I'm Dauntless now." He gives her a chaste kiss. "Tris, will you be my girlfriend? Better?" He smirks.

"Much. Yes, I will be your girlfriend." She replies and he kisses her again, this time there's no hesitancy from either of them, as their lips and tongues work together, while their arms wrap around each other in a tight embrace. When they break apart again, Tris looks concerned. "Eric, will you get in trouble for this?" She asks.

"I don't think there are rules against it. I don't really have a say in your rankings, that's mostly up to Four. I just can't show any favoritism towards you." He replies.

"We should probably keep this quiet, just in case." Tris replies and Eric scowls.

"You don't want to be seen with me?" He asks.

"I do! I just don't want to put a target on my back. Peter and his friends already constantly belittle me, and if they find out you're my boyfriend they'd be relentless with their accusations and assumptions." She replies. "Christina kind of already knows some things though."

Eric quirks a pierced eyebrow at her. "What do you mean?" He asks.

"She and I talked when I got back to the dorm tonight, and I may have admitted to her that I like you." Tris replies, talking so fast that her words ran together.

"As long as you trust her I'm perfectly fine with her knowing. I don't want to hide it, but I will to make you comfortable. Besides, I can't show you any favoritism during training, and I certainly don't want any of the other initiates to think your ranking is based on anything other than your performance. Tris, if things get too out of hand with Peter you'll tell me, right?" He asks.

"Of course I will, I just don't want him to think I'm scared of him." She replies before pecking him on the lips. "I really should get back to the dorm, I'm going to be worthless tomorrow when stage two starts." She sighs.

"Come on, I'll walk you back." He replies. They exit his apartment hand in hand. Once they make it to the initiates hallway, both are reluctant to part.

"I had a lot of fun tonight. Thank you for going ziplining with me." Tris says.

"Me too. I like having these firsts with you." He replies. He looks around the hallway and when he's satisfied that it's empty he gently presses his lips to hers.

"Goodnight Eric." She whispers.

"Goodnight Tris." He replies. He watches as she walks into the dorm, and is happy when she steals one last glance at him before closing the door behind her.

Once again Eric finds himself smiling as he walks back to his apartment. Today was the best day of his life.


	5. Chapter 5

Over the next week Tris and Eric steal as much time together as they can. Since stage two started, they're able to hide their relationship much easier as they are no longer having to ignore each other while in the same room together. Instead, Eric usually stops by a few times a day just to get general updates from Four and Lauren. Unfortunately, Eric's often had meetings that keep them from sharing their lunches together, and sometimes they only have time for a bowl of cereal for dinner as well.

All week Four has been frustrated with Tris and her simulations and it shows. While he's yet to flat out accuse her of being divergent, she can tell he's become very suspicious and his warnings about Eric have been more ominous. Eric tried to talk to her a little about her sims during dinner tonight but he sensed she was frustrated and dropped the subject completely. They instead spent most of the night making out on his couch, with the occasional break to talk. They were extremely reluctant to part when it was time for her to go back to her dorm, and Eric lingered in the hallway a little longer stealing kisses from his girlfriend before finally letting her go.

Christina is waiting up for Tris, lounging on Tris' bunk while Will is asleep on hers. Tris is late getting back tonight, and Christina watches with amusement as she tries to sneak back into the dorm and make her way to her bunk in the darkened room.

"Oh my gosh, you scared me." Tris whispers at Christina, making the girl laugh.

"Sorry, I thought you would have been back by now. I never see you anymore." Chris whispers.

"Yes you do, I've been eating lunch with you all much more often, and even dinner too sometimes." Tris reasons and Chris shakes her head.

"Ok, I never see you _alone_. What's going on with you? I was starting to think you and Eric had stopped hanging out when you started eating with us again."

"He's been busy. Lots of meetings and leader stuff." Tris replies.

"So, what's been going on with you two?" Chris whispers. Tris looks around the dorm and although she doesn't see anyone watching them she still scoots closer to Chris and whispers her replies.

"Swear not to tell _anyone_ , not even Will?" She asks.

"I swear." Christina answers.

"We're together." Tris answers and Chris bounces up and down on Tris' bunk happily.

"When, how? Details!" Chris replies.

"After capture the flag. He kissed me that night, and he asked me to be his girlfriend." Tris whispers. Christina notices that she is smiling widely.

"So, have you guys done anything besides kiss?" Chris whispers back.

"Have you and Will?" Tris replies. Chris senses the nervousness in Tris so she decides to answer her question.

"We've done _it._ " Christina whispers.

"Oh my gosh! Really? How?" Tris asks.

"Please tell me you're not asking me how sex works." Chris giggles and Tris smacks her arm.

"No, I've had the sex education class, so I know some things. I'm just trying to figure out how you're able to get any privacy." Tris whispers.

"It's not been easy, especially since we're sharing with the Dauntless born now, but we realized that meant the transfer dorms would be pretty empty. And they are, except when other people get the same idea and use the room too." Chris replies with a shudder.

"What? Who?" Tris asks.

"Drew and Molly. Peter even managed to get one of the Dauntless born girls in there at least once." Chris replies.

"Wow, that room is getting some action." Tris chuckles.

"Speaking of action, what about you and Mr. Personality?" Chris asks.

"Well, we've not gotten that far. Neither of us have any experience." Tris replies shyly.

"What? He's a virgin too?" Chris asks not masking the surprise in her voice.

"Yeah. He'd never even kissed anyone before me." Tris answers.

"Oh my god, you two really were made for each other. I can't believe he's eighteen and inexperienced. He's an asshole, but he's really attractive. Like serious bad boy vibe."

"He's not good at making friends. He's never been close to anyone before." Tris explains.

"How'd you manage to break that shell? I'll stand by what I said before, he _is_ hot, but he's also a jerk. Why did you even bother with him when there's guys like Uriah who want you too?" Chris asks.

"I just saw past what he projects in public. Don't get me wrong, I think Uriah is very sweet, and it's not like I haven't noticed other guys since we've been here, but Eric is just different. He caught my eye from the beginning, and there are reasons he's the way he is." Tris replies. "And before you ask no I won't be discussing those reasons."

"So, how far have you gotten?" Chris implores.

"Just making out. I mean, I've felt him against me." Tris replies, thankful that Chris can't see the deep blush on her cheeks.

"No wandering hands?" Chris asks.

"Nothing direct, he's just as nervous as me."

"Tris, do you want things to go further?" Chris asks.

"I think so, I really like him a lot, and there are times when we make out that I feel things, you know down there."

"When you're ready, you'll know. You've had the birth control shot, so you're protected there, and with both of you being virgins you don't have to worry about diseases." Christina explains clinically.

"Does it hurt?" Tris asks.

"A little, but it's different for everyone. It's going to be based on his size, and how tense you are. If you relax your muscles down there as he's pushing in it'll be much less pain. Once he breaks past your barrier, the pain won't be as bad. It may hurt a bit the first time or two, but each time it gets better and then it feels so good you'll want it all the time." Christina laughs lightly.

"I already want to kiss him all the time. He's such a good kisser. Is Will a good kisser?"

"Yes, very much so. He's good at other stuff too. Very gentle and kind. He always makes sure my needs are met." Chris grins.

"Oh, like orgasming?" Tris asks and Chris chuckles.

"You are more clinical than me Tris. You mean cumming? Yes Tris. We're good at telling each other what we like and what we don't like, and we aren't afraid to explore."

"Explore? Like how?" Tris asks.

"Like orally..." Chris whispers.

"Wait, what?" Tris shoots a confused look at the other girl.

"Oh god, I keep forgetting you're from Abnegation. Um, oral sex, it's when he puts his mouth and tongue on my lady parts down below. And it's when I take his man parts into my mouth. Got it now?" Chris smirks. Tris' jaw drops open.

"You mean Eric's going to want me to put that in my _mouth_?" Tris shakes her head.

"Mmhmm, and believe me when I say you'll both like it. Him for obvious reasons, and his reactions will turn you on too." She replies.

"I have so much to learn." Tris shakes her head again.

"It'll be fun because you two can learn together. So he's not tried at all?"

"Not really. He's a gentleman, even though no one would believe it. I mean, I've obviously felt the effect I have on him, and I know he has an effect on me. I guess when we're ready to go further we'll both know it." Tris replies.

"Yeah, you will. Just make sure he's the right guy for you Tris. I don't want to see you get hurt."

"You think he's a bad guy?" She asks.

"I don't know. He's not very nice during training. He doesn't really have a good reputation around Dauntless either." Christina answers carefully.

"Why do you say that? What have you heard?" She asks.

"Just that he refuses to make friends. He's basically in a relationship with his job, and that he seems to have some weird ties with the leader from Erudite."

"Weird how?" Tris asks.

"Nothing dirty or anything, but rumor has it she's making him hunt down divergents." Chris replies and Tris tenses.

"Divergents aren't even real." Tris chuckles nervously.

"You don't know that." Chris admonishes. "Either way, he seems to be involved in something shady with her. Just be careful. People are wary of that lady, and of him by association."

"Chris, how'd you know that Will was a good guy? I mean, it's possible that if we were around people who'd known him longer than we have you'd have heard more about his past than what you've observed, right?" Tris asks her friend.

Christina studies Tris' face in the shadows of their dorm. "I base my opinion of him on our own interactions and not on what other people say about him. Oh. Fine Tris, point taken." She smirks.

"Good. I really appreciate you looking out for me Chris. I've never had a friend like you before, and I love knowing we have each other's back. So, what else has been going on with you?"

"Nothing that you don't already know. Oh, wait I almost forgot to tell you the best thing, Will told me he loves me!" She whisper yells.

"Oh my gosh! How? When? What did you say?" Tris asks.

"It was just out of the blue. We were talking and he just slipped up and said it during the conversation. I thought he'd be embarrassed by it, but he wasn't, he was very sure of himself. I know it seems really fast but I love him too. He's not like any other guy I've ever been with. It sounds cheesy, but I think about how different my life would have been if I hadn't transferred here and met him." Chris replies.

"That's not cheesy at all, that's really sweet actually." Tris says.

"I wouldn't have met you either." Chris smiles.

"I don't even want to think about that!" Tris replies.

"You wouldn't have met Mr. Jerkface either." Chris smirks.

"I swear you have a different nickname for him every time we talk." Tris rolls her eyes.

"Well, he's a dick to everyone but you. You'd better hold on to that V card as long as possible to keep him right where you want him. Or, on second thought, maybe you need to give him the goodies so he'll keep you around" Christina laughs. Tris gives her a horrified look and Christina realizes she's hurt her friend with her careless remarks. "Tris, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to come across so bitchy. I know you wouldn't ask for, or take any special treatment. I definitely know you wouldn't use your body to get anything either. I was just joking, I'm so sorry. I'm just worried about getting cut."

"I know you were joking, but it's thoughts like those that make it so Eric and I have to hide what we have. There's a lot of pressure on all of us." Tris offers.

Christina opens her mouth to answer but instead lets out a big yawn. Tris smiles at her friend. "I guess we should sleep." Christina says as she stands up and crawls into her bunk next to Will. "Goodnight Tris." She whispers.

"Goodnight." Tris replies as she snuggles under her blankets and thinks about everything she and Chris talked about.

Tris has barely fallen asleep when a blood curdling scream tears her awake. She looks over at Christina's bunk and sees both Chris and Will sit up suddenly as well. Someone turns the lights on and Tris immediately jumps out of bed when she sees the bloody site on the floor.

Edward is writhing in pain, a butter knife impaled through an eye. Tris drops to his side and grabs his hands to prevent him from pulling it out.

"It hurts! Get it out!" He wails.

"I know it does, we can't move it though, it could kill you. Be brave Edward, I'm right here." Tris tries her best to soothe him. She hears someone retching close by and she steels herself against the sights and sounds of the horrors around them.

"Someone find Eric and Four." She yells to no one in particular. Tris continues to hold Edward's hands, speaking softly to him and doing everything she can to keep him calm. She glances around the room and notices that Peter has been gone this entire time.

Edward moves slightly, laying his head in her lap as he reaches for her, grasping her clothes like its his lifeline. "I don't want to die." He gasps.

"You're not going to." Tris promises as she sees Four and Eric enter the room, with medics from the infirmary right behind them.

"Fuck!" Four yells loudly as he surveys the scene. The medics try to move Tris, but Edward won't let her go. Eric can see the pure terror in his girlfriend's eyes, and he wants nothing more than to reach out for her. He and Four watch as the medics take Edward away, finally forcing him to release his grip on Tris. Four goes to Myra and gently picks the sobbing girl up.

"I'll go to the infirmary. Can you handle them?" Four asks, gesturing towards the initiates.

"Yeah." Eric answers as he watches them leave the room. He turns around and sees a mixture of emotions. Will and Christina cling to each other, the girl in obvious distress and tears falling down her face. Molly sits on her bed with her mouth hanging open a bit, not outwardly expressing any other emotion, while Drew is next to her rubbing her back. Al is crying softly and rocking back and forth on his bunk and Tris is frozen, covered in Edward's blood.

Lauren, the trainer of the Dauntless born initiates, enters the room with her normal stoic expression in place.

"What can I do to help?" She asks Eric.

"Do you have room for them in your dorm?" He asks and she nods. "I need to take care of her." He gestures towards Tris, and Lauren notices the girl is obviously in shock.

"Initiates, gather your belongings. We're moving you all to the Dauntless born dorms. You'll follow Lauren and she will help get you settled." Eric announces and he watches as they gather their belongings in their bags. He slowly approaches Tris.

"Let's get you cleaned up." He says softly and she just shakes her head.

"It was Peter." She whispers.

"Did you see him do it?" He asks and she shakes her head. "We'll investigate it Tris. Come on, let's get you cleaned up."

"I just... I don't... Eric..." She says before pulling her knees to her chest and wrapping her arms around herself, burying her face. Eric kneels in front of her.

"Hey, do you want to come home with me?" He asks, gently taking her hands in his. She nods. "I'm going to pack your stuff, ok?" She nods again.

Eric packs all of her belongings, quickly tossing everything in her two Dauntless issued duffle bags. He slings both on his shoulder, and gently picks Tris up, carrying her bridal style out the door. He sees Lauren standing outside of the Dauntless born dorm and he gestures to her.

"She's in shock. I'm taking her with me. Four's in the infirmary with Myra and Edward. Peter is missing. I'll report this to Max as soon as I get her settled. Thanks for your help." Eric says to the other woman.

"You're welcome. I'll find your missing initiate, keep your phone on I'll text updates." She replies and Eric nods before leaving.

Eric takes the most direct route to his apartment, not caring about the stares he receives. As soon as he gets there, he tries to set Tris down but she clings to him.

"I just need to put your bags down." He says softly and she allows him to put her down. "Do you want me to start the shower for you?"

"Yes." She replies. She grasps his hand and follows him to the bathroom. Eric turns the shower on to give the water time to warm. He pulls out towels.

"There's body wash, shampoo and conditioner in there. I'll be right outside the door, ok?" He asks and she grips his hand.

"Please don't leave. Please." She begs as the tears slide down her cheeks.

"Tris, are you sure?" He asks and she nods.

"I need this off of me. Please..." She lifts her arms and he helps pull the sticky tank top off of her. His breathing gets labored as he notices she's not wearing a bra. She tries to cover herself.

"Baby, it's ok, I won't hurt you." He whispers as he kisses her cheek. "You're beautiful."

He pulls her sleep pants and panties down, and she steadies herself with her hands on his shoulders as she steps out of the garments.

"Come with me, please." She whispers.

"In the shower?" Eric asks and Tris nods in response. He undresses nervously, but he's silently thankful that the dire situation is keeping his hormones in check. He notices that Tris is watching him, but she doesn't appear to be afraid. He takes her hand and leads them into his shower.

He lathers some of his body wash onto his pouf and begins washing the blood from her skin. He's careful with his touches, and he gently scrubs until her skin is finally clean. He pours some shampoo into his hands and begins massaging it into her long hair, working on getting the blood from it as well.

Noticing that some of the blood that was on her body transferred to his, Tris grabs his pouf and begins to wash Eric's body. She can see how muscular he really is, tracing his defined abs and toned chest with the pouf. She washes his shoulders and softly drags it over his neck, taking in his leadership tattoos. He pulls the handheld shower to rinse her hair as she presses closer to him, she pulls his long wet hair over his shoulder and begins washing his back.

Eric tries to concentrate on anything but the feel of her body pressed against his, but he's slowly losing the battle. His body is reacting to her, and suddenly she can feel his hardness in between them.

"I'm sorry. I can't help it." He whispers huskily and she nods. "Let's finish showering and get you dressed, ok?"

He leans down and gives her a tender kiss. She puts conditioner in her hair as Eric washes his, and soon they are both finished. He hands her one of his fluffy black towels and takes the other for himself, each drying off and wrapping the towels around them. He grabs additional towels for their hair before leaving the bathroom.

The sight of Eric in just a towel is amazing, and Tris can't take her eyes away from him. He has tattoos on his neck and both forearms, and she now notices the dauntless symbol on his back and the flames on his ribs. He has his nipples pierced, along with his ears and eyebrow. She knew he was attractive with clothes on, but naked he is stunning.

Eric knows the shower wasn't meant to be anything more than cleansing, but he can't stop thinking about how perfect she is. Her pale skin is flawless, and her body shows the hard work she's put forth in physical training. Her breasts are a little larger than he originally thought, although he's never seen a naked woman in person so he wasn't sure what to expect. The magazines he's glanced at before were nothing compared to the very natural girl in front of him. She has the soft curves of a woman, along with the muscle tone of a true Dauntless. She is beautiful, and she's his.

Once they've both dressed, they go out to the living room and sit on the couch. Tris immediately cuddles against Eric, and he wraps his arms protectively around her. He reluctantly grabs his phone to call Max.

Max answers on the first ring, informing Eric that Lauren has given him an update. Peter was found and moved to the Dauntless dorm, claiming innocence in the attack. Edward had been given the option to stay in Dauntless, but he chose to leave because of fear for his life, and Myra left with him. Max and Eric agree to meet first thing in the morning to discuss the incident, thankfully he doesn't mention Tris.

After the phone call he just concentrates on the girl in his arms. She's quiet, but it's obvious that what happened earlier has her shaken. Before he has a chance to speak there's a banging on his door. He kisses Tris on her temple before standing up to answer his door.

"Where's Tris?" Four asks with anger in his voice. He pushes past Eric and enters the living room.

"Hello to you too, Four." Eric replies. "Please come in." He says sarcastically.

Four looks at Tris and then back to Eric. He notices they both have wet hair, and they're both dressed for bed.

"What the fuck is going on here?" He asks. Eric drags him into the kitchen.

"You need to calm down, don't upset her. She was in shock and she asked to come here." Eric says, trying to keep his voice low.

"You should have taken her to the infirmary, or anywhere where she'd be safe and comfortable." Four growls.

"I wasn't going to just drop her off in the fucking infirmary and walk away from her when she needed me. She was upset." Eric retorts.

"So what, you decide to shower with her to calm her down?" Four asks.

"She was covered in blood! We both took showers, what's the big deal?" Eric spits.

"The big deal is you have a half naked initiate in your apartment after curfew, and from the looks of things it appears you have no intention of taking her back to the dorm." Four replies. "Did you move her stuff in here too Eric? She should be with the rest of the initiates."

"If she wants to go, she can. I'm not making the decision for her." He replies.

"You're a leader, of course she's going to be afraid to defy you!" Four yells, getting Tris' attention.

"I'm not afraid of him at all. I'm more afraid of you bursting in here and assuming the worst when all he's done is help me when I needed a friend. I'm not here because he forced me to be, I'm here because I want to be. If it's going to cause an issue, I'll go back to the dorm." Tris says. "But I _want_ to be here with him, so if I have to leave you will have to make me."

Four looks at Tris and then back at Eric. "Can I talk to you alone please?" He asks Tris. She glances at Eric and he nods.

"I'll be in my room." Eric says before retreating down the hallway. Once they hear the door close, Four begins speaking.

"Are you ok?" He asks.

"No. You saw what happened." She replies.

"I know, and I'm sorry I couldn't be there to help you. I can take you back to the dorm, or even to my apartment if you'd like." He offers.

"How would me being in your apartment after hours be different than me staying here?" Tris challenges.

"Because you'd be safe." He whispers. "I'm telling you, he's dangerous. If my suspicions are right about you, it's only a matter of time before he finds out too. When he does, he won't hesitate to kill you."

"Eric wouldn't hurt me." She replies weakly.

"Are you sure of that? He's been put here to find people like _you._ He may be acting like a stand up guy right now, but he's a trained soldier and when he gets the order he'll hurt you." Four whispers.

The pieces start to fall into place as Tris realizes with certainty that what she saw in her aptitude test was truly a vision. She doesn't have time to question how it happened, but for the first time she's truly terrified.

"What am I doing wrong?" She whispers.

"You're not completing the sims the way a Dauntless would." He replies. "You're manipulating the sims, and you're obviously aware that you're in a sim. You see, in the fear sim you're not _supposed to be_ _aware_." He replies. They hear the door open and Eric strides back into the room.

"Four, you need to go. It's late and we all have to be up in a few hours. Are you making her leave?" Eric asks.

Four sighs. "It's up to her." He replies. "Tris what you want to do?" Four asks.

This is where a decision has to be made. It's time for Tris to either commit to her original plan of working with Eric, or take Tori and Four's advice and align herself with Four. Either way, her life is in danger, and she could potentially be killed by the boy she's started to fall for.

It's a chance she's willing to take.

"I'd feel better if I stayed here with you." She says to Eric. Even though she's not looking directly at Four, she can sense his disappointment.

"Fine. I'll see you tomorrow." Four says, and then he shows himself out of the apartment.

Eric looks at Tris and can see she's torn about something. "What's wrong? What did he say to you?" He asks.

"He just wanted to make sure I was really ok." She replies.

"He seems to have taken a special interest in you." Eric says, studying her face for a reaction.

"He's just an instructor looking out for his initiates." Tris replies.

"Do you like him? I mean, he is Four, the perfect guy..." Eric says angrily before Tris cuts him off.

"Don't do that. I like _you._ You're my boyfriend, not him, and that's _exactly_ how I want it to be." Tris replies.

"He likes you though, as more than a friend." He replies.

"I don't care. I want to be with you, not him. Eric, why are you acting like this?" She asks.

Eric looks at his girlfriend and realizes that now is not the time for his petty rivalry with Four. Tris chose him, and he needs to not push her away with his jealousy.

"I'm sorry, I'm being stupid right now. You look tired. You can take the bed, I'll sleep out here." Eric says. "I just need to grab my pillow and the extra blanket from my room.

"I don't want to be alone. Please." Tris says and Eric can see the panic in her eyes.

"Ok, don't get upset, I'll stay with you." He replies, reaching for her hand and leading her to his bedroom. They both get under the blankets, and Tris scoots towards Eric. He reaches for her and pulls her closer to him. She lays her head on his chest and he puts his arm around her.

"What will happen to Edward?" She asks quietly.

"He and Myra chose to leave." He replies.

"What about Peter?" She asks.

"If we can prove he was the attacker, he'll be factionless. If we can't, there's nothing that we can do to officially punish him. However, unofficially we can make his life hell." Eric explains.

Tris feels him running his fingers through her long hair. "That feels so good." She whispers.

"Good, I was hoping it would. You said it helped when your mom would do this when you were upset." He replies softly.

Tris smiles, she's touched that Eric remembered that about her.

"Eric, I want you to know I don't want to be with Four. Even if you and I weren't together, I wouldn't be with him. I don't like him like that." Tris whispers.

Eric rests his head against hers and kisses her hair. "Everyone always chooses him." He simply says.

"Not everyone, and especially not me. I'll always choose you." She replies.

"Thank you." He whispers.

Tris looks up at him and stretches to kiss him. He leans slightly and meets her lips. Just like every kiss they've shared so far, this one feels familiar and warm to both of them. Eric deepens the kiss, but they soon break apart before taking things further. Eric wraps both arms protectively around her.

"Goodnight Tris." He says as he kisses her forehead.

"Goodnight." She replies. She concentrates on listening to his even breathing and heartbeat, but her mind is racing too much to fall asleep.


	6. Chapter 6

**AN: Thank you all for the reviews and follows.**

Tris paces back in forth in the hallway, not so patiently waiting for her name to be called and for this slow torture to be over with. She's sick of simulations already, and she wonders if what happened to Edward is an indication of more cruelty to come. Not to mention Four and his cryptic warnings about Eric are making her crazy. She can tell that they cannot stand each other, but what other motivation does her instructor have for constantly harping about her boyfriend.

"Molly, you're up." Four says and everyone watches as Molly follows Four into the room.

The Dauntless born trainer, Lauren, calls her initiate back as well. Tris leans against the wall, trying her hardest to stay awake. She had a hard time sleeping last night, not only because the horrific attack on Edward, but also the conversation with Four and her worries about Eric.

When she was actually able to sleep, having Eric there was a comfort. She is so torn, with Tori and Four's warnings ringing in her ears, but when she's with Eric she sees a real person, a boy who was forced to become a man well before he was ready to. It's not just leadership, it's also his childhood. He never had the loving parents and family that Tris had, he doesn't have friends and he's never known love.

"Hey Trissy you look tired, you can come sit on my lap." Uriah calls out, wiggling his eyebrows at Tris. She laughs at his absurdity and shakes her head.

"No thanks, I like standing." She smiles.

"Well, it's an open offer, so anytime you're ready you just slide right over." He says with a grin.

"Thanks, I appreciate that." Tris replies. Even though Eric isn't here, she still wouldn't feel comfortable sitting on another boy's lap. At times like these she wishes that Eric and she could go public with their relationship, but Tris knows there is too much at stake for them to bring unwanted attention to themselves.

She glances over and makes eye contact with Christina, who is giggling at the exchange. Tris just rolls her eyes and shakes her head. She thinks about Eric, finding that she's missed spending time with him today. He had been stuck in a meeting again when she was finally dismissed for lunch, and he'd not stopped by training at all today which was unusual for him.

They hear screaming coming from behind the closed door of the room that Molly and Four are in. The initiates all look at each other with expressions of concern and fear.

"What do you think he's doing to her?" Marlene asks.

"I'm pretty sure Four isn't doing anything to her, she's probably got a major fear she's dealing with." Uriah replies.

Will glances over at Drew, and the squat redhead shrugs his shoulders. "I have no idea, she's usually not easily frightened." Drew offers. It's the most Tris has ever heard the boy speak.

"That sounds pretty severe." Christina replies and there are many nods.

Suddenly, Molly's screams stop and the door flies open. "Will, Drew I need you to take Molly to the infirmary." Four commands and the two rush into the room.

The initiates watch in horror as Molly is carried away, clearly in a catatonic state.

"Tris." Four calls from the open doorway. She enters the room and glances at the reclined chair.

"Have a seat." Four gestures. He attaches leads to her temples. He removes a needle from a black box and attaches a vial of liquid.

"What happened to Molly?" Tris asks carefully. Four gives her a hard look, then sighs.

"She couldn't handle her fear. I had to stop it manually." He replies.

"Is she going to fail?" Tris asks.

"Quite possibly, yes. If you're unable to face your fears, you're unable to protect the city in the face of the unknown." He answers. Tris realizes he sounds a lot like Eric when he explains certain things. The two enigmatic men are much more similar than either of them are willing to admit.

Four moves her hair off her shoulder, and she feels his fingers linger on her skin. He notices her shiver and he removes his hand and then presses the needle into Tris' neck.

"Be brave." He whispers, just as he has every other time, and she drifts off.

Tris wakes up in a room and she sees Peter, Christina, Eric, Four and some of the other initiates. She walks towards them, but suddenly she runs into a wall of glass. She hears the sound of water running, and she notices she's in a glass box that is quickly filling with water. She screams for Eric, but he just looks at her and laughs at something Christina says to him. Tris is banging on the glass, kicking and screaming but everyone just laughs at her predicament.

The water keeps rising, and she can't figure out a way to get out of the box. The water has risen to her neck, and she quickly realizes she will soon be completely submerged. She takes a deep breath right before the water rises over her head. She can see her own reflection in the glass, and suddenly she realizes this isn't real. She imagines the glass is a thin sheet of ice, and she quickly punches through it, breaking it, draining all of the water and washing her out of the box.

Tris jerks awake, unable to catch her breath. She sees Four in the room, and he quickly rushes to her.

"It's ok Tris, it's over." He says, reaching out for her. She shrinks from his touch.

"That was awful." She says, wrapping her arms around herself. "I hadn't seen that one before."

"Tris, how'd you break the glass?" Four asks.

"I don't know, I just did." She replies.

He grabs her arm and pulls her out of the room and into the back hallway.

"What are you doing?" She asks, trying to remove her arm from his grasp.

"Tris, I need you to be honest with me. What were your aptitude test results?" He asks.

"Dauntless." Tris answers.

"Tris, something more happened during that test. Please, I'm trying to protect you here." He says.

"Protect me from what Four? I'm so tired of trying to figure you out. You talk in circles, you warn me people are dangerous but you don't explain why. You tell me you're trying to protect me, but you never say what it is that I need protection from. I need to know what's going on here." I whisper yell to him.

Four gives Tris a hard stare. He's watched what's been going on with leadership and Jeanine Matthews. She's been in and out of the compound, meeting with both Eric and Max after hours, sometimes in the middle of the night. He watched as computer equipment was delivered and moved to an old storage room, and then this morning he saw a delivery of some serum. He's not one hundred percent sure as to what is being planned, but he has a pretty good idea it's something dangerous, more so for the divergents like himself and potentially Tris.

"If you really want to know, meet me back here tonight during dinner. I'm going to go erase your footage right now. Just so you know, a Dauntless wouldn't break the glass." He admonishes before walking away.

Eric walks towards the simulation rooms, not by his own choice but at the demand of Max. He was told to observe the sims today, which he conveniently 'forgot' to do, and it angered Max. So he was ordered to get a detailed report from both Lauren and Four, including a copy of any unusual sims. After speaking with Lauren and going over the recordings he believes Uriah is divergent. What exactly he's going to do with that information is unknown at this point, he'd rather think of anything other than this project.

He walks into the simulation room as Four is finishing up with his last initiate.

"What do you want?" Four asks without looking up.

"Hello to you too Four. Nice to see you again." Eric replies sarcastically.

"We can skip the bullshit. You're here for a reason, what is it?" He asks.

"I need an update on this week's sims. How'd everyone do?" Eric asks.

"For their first week, not horrible. Except Molly, I had to manually stop her sim because she was panicking to the point of it becoming dangerous. And Al, he's still pretty awful." Four replies.

"Molly will end up failing if she can't get past these fears. It's unfortunate since she's physically an excellent fighter." Eric says.

"She's a bit brutal at times." Four scoffs. "Although, Tris did kick the shit out of her."

Eric actually smiles at the memory, even though he knows that Molly's persistent bullying of Tris is what caused the fight to become personal for her. He also knows had Tris not beaten Molly there was a good chance she would have been cut, and that's not a thought that sits well with him.

"How bad for Al?" Eric asks.

"Almost fifty minutes."

"Yeah, that's pretty awful. Who's gonna end up in first?" Eric asks as he's pulling his hair into a ponytail.

"It _was_ Edward, before someone put a fucking knife in his eye." Four replies angrily. "It's nice to see that leadership didn't care enough to punish someone for that shit."

"We investigated, there were no witnesses and no proof. I can't kick someone out just because of suspicions. You know this." Eric replies. "I don't like it any more than you do, and we have to watch them all more closely, especially whoever is now in first place. By the way who is it?"

"Tris." Four replies, avoiding eye contact with the other man.

Eric's facade drops briefly as he absorbs what Four just said to him. Tris is now in first place, which will put the target straight on her back.

"Are you sure? I thought for certain it'd be Peter." Eric replies.

"Yeah, I'm sure. I am able to do simple math without your help you know." Four replies and Eric has to practically bite his tongue off to not make a snarky comment.

"What's her average?" Eric asks.

"Little over three minutes."

Eric shakes his head slightly. "Three minutes? That's insane. Can I see today's?"

"There was a glitch, the recording got stuck as soon as the sim started. I tried to recover it, but it's gone. All I have is the timestamp." Four busies himself with cleaning up the room.

"What happened with her sim, Four?"

"Exactly what I said, Eric, what part is confusing to you? I can try to use smaller words, I know you're not in Erudite anymore." Four sneers.

"What the fuck is your problem?" Eric yells.

"My problem? You really need to ask me that? What are you doing with Tris?" Four shouts.

"You have feelings for her, don't you?" Eric asks.

"She's my initiate, it's my job to keep an eye on her. Now, you're supposed to be overseeing _all_ of this year's initiation, so what I don't understand is why the only part of initiation you seem to be overseeing is _her._ " He replies.

"That's enough. Are you forgetting who you're talking to?" Eric shouts.

"No, Eric, how could I when you take every opportunity to remind me every fucking chance you get? You're my leader, I get it. You walk around this place like you hate everyone and everything, and suddenly you're friends with her? You expect me to believe you actually care about her? You don't care about anyone, in the whole two years we've known each other the only person you've cared about is yourself. So excuse me for questioning your motives when it comes to her."

"You're out of line, _instructor_! You obviously need to be reminded of what your role is here! Now, you do your job and I'll do mine!" Eric shouts.

"And what exactly is my job, _leader_?" Four yells.

"To ensure these sims are conducted properly, and the recording preserved. It's not difficult, and yet you always seem to have a problem with it. Follow the orders of your superior." Eric spits.

"Right, follow orders blindly just like you, _sir_?" Four replies.

"I'll be here Monday to observe. Perhaps this way there will be no _malfunctions_ during testing." Eric replies angrily before he leaves the room.

Eric is frantic, between his own observations about Tris, her strange aptitude test results and now Four's protectiveness and issues with her sim he knows for sure that Tris is divergent. He's suspected it ever since their capture the flag game, but now he knows. He thinks about Jeanine's sudden interest in her, how she was adamant he pay close attention to her, and the war that Jeanine's planning that will almost certainly kill her father. This is the big project that Max and Jeanine hand picked him for. This is exactly what their plan was - for Eric to find the divergents and bring them in one by one until they find the perfect one. They've put all of their trust in him, and based on the last several meetings he's had with Jeanine she _knows_ Tris is not only divergent, but probably of a high enough percentage to be extremely valuable.

He's going to be expected to turn her over to Jeanine, and then when Jeanine is done with her, he'll be expected to kill her.

Eric runs a frustrated hand through his hair, knowing that Max is expecting him to have a report ready before he leaves for the day. He's on his way back to his office when Max approaches him.

"Eric, we have a visitor." Max says, gesturing at the young leader to follow him.

"Really? We just met with her earlier today, why is she here?" Eric asks.

Max can hear the frustration in the young man's voice, and for the umpteenth time he silently questions why Jeanine insisted on including Eric in her plans. While Max may finally agree with Jeanine that Eric was a good choice for leadership because of his dedicated work ethic, he can tell that the plans for divergents and the war are wearing the younger man down. Max has also noticed something that both surprises and worries him - Eric has been spending a great deal of time with Tris Prior. Max knows that Jeanine believes that she could be _the_ divergent she's been looking for, and while he's aware that Eric has been tasked with watching her his own observations have told him that Eric's interest in the young woman run much deeper than the task at hand.

"When duty calls, we answer." Max replies as he and Eric make their way to Max's office, where the severe looking blonde leader of Erudite waits for them.

"Sorry to keep you waiting Jeanine, Eric needed to finish with the instructors. The initiates current ranks will be revealed to them this evening, since this is the official halfway point of their training." Max explains as he takes a seat behind his desk.

Eric is leaning against the wall, but after one sharp look from Max he takes a seat in the chair next to Jeanine in front of Max's desk.

"Ah, the ranks. Eric, do fill me in. How is training going?" Jeanine asks, turning her attention to the younger man.

"What you really mean is who's divergent and who's not, right Jeanine? There's no need to act like you're actually interested in the development of our Dauntless soldiers." Eric replies evenly.

"Eric!" Max admonishes as Jeanine narrows her eyes at Eric. "What has gotten in to you?"

"Max, this is typical behavior for Eric." Jeanine soothes. "He's not happy with having to work after hours, and we certainly didn't choose him for leadership based on his social graces, now did we?" She smiles, turning her attention back to Eric. "Since you brought it up, do tell me who you suspect."

Eric casually leans back in his chair. "No one. This is one of the better groups we've had, and there are some standouts as far as performance is concerned, but no one appears to be divergent." He replies with confidence. If it's one thing Eric knows he's good at, it's pretending to be outwardly confident while masking the turmoil inside. He silently thinks his worthless mother for forcing him to learn that habit at a young age. She'd only stop berating him when she'd tire of him refusing to break down.

"Interesting. You do realize that there was once again an _issue_ with one of Beatrice Prior's sims today, correct?" Jeanine asks evenly. Eric has to dig deep to feign disinterest, however he's reeling at the fact that Jeanine already knows about today's issue.

"Yes, Four told me that her recording glitched and all he got was the timestamp." Eric replies. He can feel Max's eyes on him, but he refuses to meet the older leader's hard stare.

"That doesn't strike you as odd?" Jeanine presses.

"No, I checked it out myself and it was exactly as he reported it. Look, why are you second guessing me when you've trusted me with this assignment?" Eric asks.

"Maybe it's because you seem rather close to your target." Max answers, causing Eric's stomach to drop.

"I was tasked with keeping a close eye on her." Eric replies easily.

Jeanine watches the exchange between Max and Eric with interest.

"You were, however you spend a lot of time with Tris. You have her in your apartment quite often, and it's also been reported that you have shown her affection in public. Now, you've been here for two years Eric, and this isn't your typical behavior." Max replies, keeping his dark brown eyes trained on Eric.

"That _should_ be your answer right there Max. I don't get close to people, I don't have friends nor do I ever try to make friends. When I was tasked with watching Tris Prior, I had to find a way to get her to not be afraid of me. I needed to earn her trust, because as you probably already know _no one_ in this faction likes me. How many people do you think tell her daily to stay away from me?" Eric replies easily.

"I understand trying to earn her trust, but why make it appear that you are pursuing her? I've heard the whispers and rumors Eric, people think you are trying to woo the girl." Max responds.

"She might have a little crush on me, and I'm using it to my advantage." Eric replies as he shrugs his shoulders with his mask of indifference in place.

"So, you're telling me that there is nothing going on between you and this girl? I've seen her Eric, she's quite beautiful and she has a number of admirer's waiting in the wings." Eric's jealousy flares at Max's words. "No one would fault you for liking the girl. She's quite the specimen."

"She's an assignment." Eric replies. "Look, she's about to be the top ranked initiate when ranks are revealed later. I know you want to believe she's divergent, and I want to make sure that she is. If we're wrong about her we lose yet another great Dauntless soldier. We already lost Edward, for other reasons obviously, so excuse me if I'm trying to actually keep our top initiates."

Jeanine regards the two men in the room with her and studies their reactions carefully. She's known Max for years, and while they may have professionally butted heads from time to time, personally he's been her lover and confidant for the better part of the past three years. She's well versed in his personality quirks, and his extreme paranoia is one his least redeeming qualities. While she certainly doesn't know Eric nearly as well, she does know his lack of social skills, his abrasive personality and his reclusive nature would be a complete turn off for most young women, even those who love a good challenge. He and Beatrice Prior are like oil and water, the sweet and loved Abnegation girl would never want to be friends with the gritty Dauntless leader, so if Eric is taking the assignment seriously enough to actually turn on some charm to win the girl's trust she applauds him for it.

"Max, while I can understand your trepidation in regards to the relationship between Eric and Beatrice, I must say I think you're wrong. Eric acknowledges he's not the most personable young man, and it appears he's making up for his lack of social graces by attempting to be charming to the young lady. That tells me that he's taking his role in our project seriously. Now my dearest Max, you and I both know that our young Eric isn't a romantic boy. He wouldn't know what to do with the girl even if he returned her affections." Jeanine laughs, with Max quickly joining in.

"Why are you fucking laughing at me?" Eric growls, causing Max to get angry and Jeanine to laugh more.

"See what I mean Max? This is why he needs parental figures. Eric, don't worry when the time is right Max and I will be right here to help you find your way." Jeanine replies with a smile.

"Jesus Christ, don't tell me I need to have the birds and the bees talk with you boy." Max replies, arching his eyebrow at Eric. "Oh for fucks sake, you're a virgin." He shakes his head. "I guess we really don't have anything to worry about." He chuckles.

"I don't see what any of this has to do with the assignment." Eric replies angrily. He's now the butt of their jokes and it's making him livid. This is like his mother all over again.

"Eric, don't be upset. Max and I just want you to know that we are here for you, especially since we know your mother wasn't. Oh, and don't forget your father, God only knows where he's been your whole life." She replies with a smirk.

"You have no right..." Eric yells as Max stands up. Jeanine puts her hand up, gesturing for Max to sit back down.

"I have _every_ right Eric. Your mother is a whore, as we speak she's out screwing someone for money to support her drug and alcohol habit. It's a good thing that I care about your well being, because I've spent years researching your DNA until I found your _father_. You want to know who he is, don't you Eric?" Jeanine asks.

"You found my father?" Eric whispers.

"I did. He wants to meet you, Eric. Now, for that to happen you need to cooperate. I don't want you to fail at our mission, I want to be proud of you. _We all_ want to be proud of you." She replies.

"How do I know you're telling me the truth?" Eric asks.

"Because you know me. Who was there for you in Erudite Eric?"

"You were." Eric replies.

"Exactly. I'll always be here for you, I don't want you to forget that. We care about you, Max, your father and myself. When this is all said and done, who do you think will be here for you? Certainly not a girl from Abnegation who doesn't belong in _any_ faction. You remember your assignment, and also remember your place. You will _always_ be by our side." Jeanine replies.

"Yes ma'am." Eric replies. His thoughts are spiraling out of control. She found his father and he wants to meet him. Maybe he will have a parent who actually cares about him. Jeanine's words interrupt his thoughts and he turns his attention back to her.

"Good. Now that we've gotten that out of the way we can move on to the real reason for my visit." Jeanine remarks as she reaches in a box next to her and pulls out a strange looking device. She points it at Eric and he cringes.

"What the hell is that?" He asks.

"Your new favorite toy." She replies with a sinister smile. She squeezes a trigger and a mechanical voice breaks the silence in the room.

"Divergence twenty eight percent. Dauntless seventy two percent, Erudite twenty eight percent." The mechanical voice reports.

"Interesting. It's a good thing you're on our side, isn't it?" She asks sweetly. Eric cringes at her remark. "Eric, don't worry, you're not dangerous. Anything over thirty percent is what we need to worry about."

"What does that mean?" Max asks.

"It means we don't have to dispose of him." She answers. "However, to be safe if you find anyone like this we need to know. Even the slightest bit of divergence can cause compliance issues. We don't need anyone who is less than one hundred percent compliant, do we Eric?"

"No, absolutely not." Eric is reeling, this toy as Jeanine called it just exposed divergence in him that he never knew existed. Even though Max and Jeanine are casually talking, he clearly heard her veiled threat.

"Divergence twelve percent. Dauntless eighty eight percent, Candor twelve percent." The mechanical voice reports, Eric looks up sharply and sees Jeanine pointing the device at Max.

Max's dark features blanch a bit as he stares at Jeanine. "I think your toy may be broken." He says angrily.

Jeanine laughs. "No, it's working perfectly fine. Like I said before, anything under thirty percent isn't necessarily something to be concerned with. It's almost normal."

"Can I see that?" Max asks. Jeanine hands it to him and he points it at her. She lifts an eyebrow.

"Divergence two percent. Erudite ninety eight percent, Candor two percent."

"It looks like we have more in common that we originally thought, don't we Max?" She smiles seductively at Max and Eric realizes that there is something very unprofessional going on between the two head faction leaders. He now finally understands how Jeanine is getting Max to go along with her plans so easily.

Max clears his throat and smiles. "This is definitely an interesting toy. Eric, I'm going to need you to use it on the initiates."

"How?" Eric asks without thinking. "How am I going to explain pointing a device at them that announces their potential divergence percentage?"

"The volume can be adjusted, so the voice can be muted, and you'll check the results on the screen. Tell them it's a prototype that Erudite is testing to replace the aptitude test. If anyone asks what their aptitude is, tell them. Go with whatever was the largest percentage. Now you can finally take the guess work out of things and you can start bringing me the divergents." Jeanine replies. "Do you have any questions about this assignment, Eric?"

Eric recognizes the tone she's using, and it's nothing good. He may have been able to explain his relationship with Tris away easily enough, but Jeanine's not convinced he's telling the truth about her divergence. She's impatient and this is her way of forcing Eric's hand, which is why Eric believes she dared to even bring up his supposed father.

"No, I understand exactly what you need." He replies.

"Good. I knew my faith in you wasn't misplaced. Since you and Miss Prior are so close, you should have no problems getting her to cooperate, isn't that right?" Jeanine presses.

"I'll have no issues with Tris." Eric replies.

"Very good, because I'd hate to have to find someone else to force her cooperation. I'd hate to think that you were _anything_ but compliant. You're dismissed Eric, take this with you and I'll check back with you on Monday evening." She replies as she hands Eric the box.

He leaves with the box in his hand and heads to his office to drop the device off there. He doesn't want it near him for the time being, all he wants is to clear his head.

He exits his office, locking the door behind himself. His mind is consumed with muddled thoughts of Jeanine's threats regarding Tris, and the possibility of meeting his father. He needs time to process everything he just learned, but he knows he's expected to reveal the rankings with Four, so he slowly makes his way back to the training room.


	7. Chapter 7

Christina and Tris are sitting together in the training room, both young women nervously waiting for the ranks to be posted. Four had promised that an update would be up before dinner, and time was slowly ticking away. Both hear tidbits of the conversations around the room, the other initiates are discussing their experience with the many rounds of fear simulations they were put through.

Besides the unnerving glass tank fear, Tris experienced another fear that involved birds, which was ironic considering she'd had three ravens tattooed on her collarbone. In the sim the birds appeared to be crows, hundreds of them hellbent on pecking her to death. She's been nervous about what she needs to do in her sims and she really hopes to get some answers from Four during dinner.

The room quiets down as Four and Eric enter. Tris is happy to finally see her boyfriend after this long day, but she's disappointed when he doesn't even look at her.

"We have two sets of scores to share, the board that I will be posting will show your average sim time from this week. The board that Four will post will be your overall ranking, which is a combined score of stage one and stage two." Eric announces. He hangs his board on a hook, and Tris finds herself at the top of the list, with an average time is three minutes and eight seconds. She looks at the second name, which is Peter and she gasps at his average time of twelve minutes and fifty six seconds.

She has no time to react as the initiates watch Four hang his board. Tris is in first place. She's shocked, and faintly aware of Four dismissing them for the evening.

"How the fuck are you doing it Stiff?" Peter snarls.

"Doing what?" Tris asks as Will and Al make their way over to where she and Christina are standing.

"Look at your time, it's insane. You're obviously doing _something._ If you won't tell me, at least tell your friends. Mark my words though, I _will not_ be beaten by a Stiff." Peter snarls as he roughly pushes past Tris to leave the room.

"Wow. How _are_ you doing it, Tris?" Will asks.

"There's nothing special about what I do. I just am able to calm myself easily I guess. You've all been through the sims, it's not like you can practice for them." Tris replies.

"Are you coming to dinner with us, Tris?" Al asks.

"I may be there later, I need to do something first. You guys go ahead." Tris says. The trio head for the door, with Christina glancing back at Tris with an unreadable expression.

Tris takes a deep breath before glancing around the room. She's once again surprised that Eric is gone, but partially relieved that she won't have to lie to him in order to meet Four. She leaves the room and heads up to the simulation room to find Four. She finds him inside the room, lounging on the reclined chair.

"Hey, you made it." He says with a small smile.

"Yeah, sorry I am late, my friends were grilling me about my sim time." She replies.

"For good reason. You're four times faster than the second place initiate. There's a difference between being good, and being _too_ good." He warns.

"Yes, you've alluded to that before. But, like all other things that come out of your mouth, it's a complete mystery as to _what_ exactly you're talking about." She replies.

Four carefully studies the girl in front of him, knowing that once he begins talking again they will be at the point of no return. No matter what happens tonight, he knows he cares about Tris and he knows she's in danger. His only hope is that she will listen to reason, and that she will dismiss whatever affiliation she has with Eric.

"I know I've asked you to tell me things that you're not comfortable talking about, and I realized that in order for you to trust me I'd need to start trusting you. I'm hesitant to do so, because of your involvement with Eric. Is there something going on there?" Four asks.

"He and I have become friends." Tris answers only semi truthfully. She needs answers from Four, but she also needs to protect what she has with Eric.

"Has he told you anything about meetings with Jeanine Matthews?" He asks.

"No, but I've seen her meet with him. Well, not like I actually sat in on a meeting, but he and I were together when she approached him after training one day. Why?" Tris asks.

"I work in the control room, and I've seen them meet, a lot. Usually after hours, and she meets with him and Max together, and sometimes each of them individually. There have also been deliveries of computer equipment and serums from Erudite. They're planning something big, Tris."

"A war...on Abnegation." Tris whispers and Four's eyes widen in shock.

"How would you know that? Did Eric tell you that?" He asks.

"Four, do you have any way of getting the serum used during the aptitude testing?" Tris asks.

"Yeah, we keep it stocked here for use when Dauntless helps conduct the tests, why?" He asks, confused on what the aptitude test has to do with the subject at hand.

"I need you to give me an aptitude test, and I need you to save the results so I can show them to someone else." Tris answers.

"Why? You can just tell me what your results were Tris. It's much easier..."

"I need to show you." Tris interrupts. "Please, you asked me to trust you, now I'm asking you to trust me."

Four stares at the young woman in front of him before finally making his decision. "Fine, wait here." He says before disappearing out the door.

Tris sits nervously waiting for Four to come back. This is the true point of no return, and her only hope is that she will have both Four and Eric on her side. She jumps slightly when Four enters the room.

"Ok, I have everything. Tris, I need to know what to expect here." Four implores. "I don't see how me watching your aptitude test will help anything."

"It's not what you think. Please, just watch, we will talk about it after. It may take awhile, that's all I can really tell you without showing you." She replies. "Whatever you do, don't stop the test or wake me up unless you feel I'm in danger, ok?"

Four reluctantly nods and starts the computer program, then waits as Tris drinks the serum. He watches the monitor as Tris slips into her trance. Instead of the generic aptitude test he expected, he's watching what looks to be a war scene through her eyes. He can see himself walking in front of her, dressed in full uniform, holding a rifle as they make their way through Abnegation. He watches in horror as his friends march and kill methodically.

"What the absolute fuck?" He asks out loud.

Almost three hours pass as Four watches the entire scene play out in front of him like a movie, all through Tris' mind. The zombie like state of his fellow Dauntless, the murders, he and Tris being confronted by Max and Eric, Tris and Eric shooting each other, Tris' mother dying, the group which includes his father that breaks into Dauntless to save Four from his own sim, Tris' father dying, the confrontation of Jeanine, escaping on the train. Scenes of both horror and intrigue flash on the screen, he witnesses them escaping from Amity and Eric chasing them the whole way, an interrogation in Candor and then he's horrified to watch as he and Tris capture Eric, and he shoots Eric point blank in the head as punishment for his crimes. At this point, he sees Tris under distress, and she jerks awake with a scream.

She sits up in the chair, shaking slightly, out of breath and sweating. He walks over to her, careful of his approach and places his hand on her shoulder.

"Hey, it's ok. You're ok. Take a deep breath Tris."

"You killed him. Oh my god, Four, you killed him..." Tris begins to cry and Four gently places an arm around her shoulder. Tris takes several minutes to compose herself.

"How? I mean, what did I just watch? How Tris?" He asks. "What was _that_?"

"I don't know. That's what I saw during my aptitude test, except that Tori had to manually stop it. I saw much more this time." She replies with a shaky voice.

"You're divergent, but I've never seen one so strong. I don't understand _how_ you could see that. It's things that haven't happened, things that we don't even know for sure will happen. I just don't understand how?" Four asks. He's at a loss, he's never seen anything remotely like what he just witnessed, but he knows without a shadow of a doubt that whatever reason Jeanine has Eric hunting down divergents is sitting right in front of him. Jeanine is looking for _her_.

"I'm telling you, I don't know. Tori didn't either. I'd never met any of you the first time that happened, and yet I was having a vision of all of you. Four, based on what you've told me so far, what you just saw isn't just some malfunction of the serum. It's going to happen unless we stop it." Tris says.

"You're trying to get to Eric." Four finally says.

"That was part of why I chose to transfer here. Before I ever took that test I knew I wanted to be here. I never belonged in Abnegation. After my test, I knew I had a purpose here, and it was to stop that war. Yes, I sought out Eric for that reason, but I never expected to actually like him. He's a real person, and there's a reason that he is the way he is." Tris explains.

"He can't be trusted, you saw it yourself Tris. He shoots you!" Four exclaims.

"That was before he really knew me." Tris retorts.

"How do you know? You only can see the war, Tris. What if everything that you've done since the day you got here leads you to what we just saw?" He asks.

Tris sits back in the chair, and realization sets in. She's never thought of it like that. She always assumed that the Eric she is confronted by in the vision is not the same Eric she's gotten to know now. They were friends. They were more...and she feels it. What if he doesn't? What if once he finds out what she really is he turns on her?

Four can tell that what he has said is sinking in and Tris is just now realizing that it's possible she doesn't know Eric as well as she thought she did. He doesn't speak, instead he allows her to think about what he's said. The silence in the room is deafening.

"I don't know what to do. I need to change what happens. Innocent people die. My mom is murdered right in front of me. My dad too. And Eric." Tris has to will herself not to cry as she thinks about Four shooting Eric. "I just can't sit on my hands and do nothing." She says, feeling the distress that is evident in her voice.

"I'm on your side, Tris. But Eric, I don't trust. I've known him for two years, and he's not capable of caring about anything or anyone who doesn't serve a purpose to him. What if he's just trying to get you to trust him so it's easier for him to turn you in to Jeanine?"

"I think you're wrong." Tris replies.

"Are you willing to risk your life on it?" He challenges. "You saw what happened in that vision, Tris. He chases us down trying to get to you. He murders so many innocent people."

"Eric cares about me. I know he does." Tris says.

"What exactly is going on with the two of you? What has he done to convince you of any type of loyalty towards you or that he cares about you?"

"We're together." Tris replies quietly.

"Together? As in how? Are you sleeping with him?" He asks incrediously.

"No! It started as friends, but he's my boyfriend now. We're not sleeping together." Tris replies.

"Look, I'm not trying to be a jealous asshole by saying any of this, but you can't expect him to completely do a 180 just because he likes holding your hand and kissing you." Four replies. "I care about you, and I'm willing to put myself on the line for you. Is he?"

"I think so. I'm falling for him Four, and I think he feels the same way about me. I need to figure it out. I owe him that much. No matter what you think about him, I care about him and I think he is a better person than even he realizes. He's been nothing but good to me."

Four stares at her, trying to understand how she can put so much faith in a man who doesn't seem to care about anything.

"Tris, he's not a good person." He replies. "I can almost guarantee he's using you."

"Four, do you actually know anything about him other than what he shows in public?" Tris challenges.

"He doesn't let anyone know him Tris! He's spent almost every day since our initiation either holed up in his office, his apartment or the leadership training rooms." Four replies.

"I've spent almost every day since I've been here with him. Four, any time I'm not in training I'm with him. He's let me in, he talks to me about personal things, he's a real person. It wasn't easy at first, but now it's natural for us. Please trust me on this. I need to give him this chance." Tris says.

"Fine, just be careful. And please don't bring me into it, unless you feel like he's on our side. If it goes south, I'll be here for you." He replies. "You're asking me for a lot right now, I just hope you know what you're getting yourself into when it comes to him."

"Thank you." She replies.

"Tris, you have to be careful with your sims. You have to start thinking how a Dauntless does. What you've been doing all week is going to put you right in their crosshairs. Eric was already asking questions about your sims today, and even though I gave him a plausible explanation for what happened he's not convinced. He's smart Tris, Erudite level smart. He's going to figure this out. He already told me he'd be observing the landscapes himself on Monday."

"What do I do?" She asks.

"Think like a Dauntless. Look around you and use something that is readily available to stop the fear. You can't manipulate the sim, nor can you manufacture something out of thin air. For example, in your sim with the birds you should find something to get them away from you. I've noticed there's always fire involved, find a branch or something. The water tank is trickier, you need to find a way to stop the water from coming in."

"There's a pipe at the bottom, I could shove my shirt or pants inside of it." Tris replies.

"Yeah, that's thinking like a Dauntless." He replies with a genuine smile. "Keep that in mind on Monday when you're going through your fear, ok?"

She stands up and embraces Four. "Thank you, Four, for trusting me and for helping."

He holds her close and breathes in her scent. "Tobias." He whispers. She looks up at him with a confused expression. "It's my name. I changed it when I left Abnegation. I wanted to leave that person, and that life behind."

"Tobias Eaton." She replies. "You're Marcus' son. That's why you reacted the way you did in the vision we saw today."

"Yeah. There aren't many who know who I really am, and I'd prefer to keep it that way. I don't mind if you call me Tobias when we're alone though. It's nice hearing my name again." He replies. He hands Tris the small drive that he recorded her aptitude test on, and she slips it in her pocket. "Did you ask me to record that so you can show Eric?" He asks.

"Yes, but I'm not going to show it to him without talking to him first. I won't show this to him, or tell him anything unless I am sure. Please just trust me."

"I trust you, but please be careful." He replies.

"Thank you for trusting me, and for helping me. I should go, I'm sure Eric's been looking for me." Tris replies. "Goodnight Tobias."

"Goodnight Tris, and good luck." He replies with a smile.

Tris leaves the simulation room feeling heavy from her conversation with Four. There's so much to think about, and even more at risk now. She knows that she can trust Tobias to be on her side, but as they both witnessed it's not enough. Even though they survived, so many others didn't.

She walks to Eric's apartment and knocks on the door. She waits several minutes and realizes he's not at home. He must be in another meeting, she thinks as she heads back towards the dorms, deciding to try to find Will, Al and Christina.

Tris is deep in thought when suddenly she's grabbed violently and dragged towards the chasm. She screams loudly before a rag is stuffed into her mouth and a blindfold tied over her eyes.

Four locks the simulation room and heads out minutes after Tris. He's concerned for the young woman, fearful that her trust in Eric is misguided. He's broken out of his thoughts by a piercing scream that seems to echo off the walls. Hearing a scream isn't too unusual in Dauntless, there's usually enough drunken debauchery going on at any given time to cause screams and squeals of happiness. This scream was chilling, and Four is immediately concerned. There's only one place he can think that a scream would echo like that, and he takes off running towards the chasm.

Tris is fighting as hard as she can against her unknown assailaints. She kicks and flails against them, twisting her body and trying to elbow and knee them.

"Keep her still." One of the masked men hisses.

"I'm trying!" Another one whisper yells.

Tris cannot see her attackers due to the masks they wear, but she can smell the familiar scent of lemongrass and sage, and her stomach drops at the realization that one of her attackers is Al. She feels her back hitting a hard railing.

"Damn, you have some nice tits Stiff. I can see why Eric and Four can't seem to leave you alone. I just want a little taste of what you give to them." Tris recognizes the voice, it's Peter. She kicks against him as he continues to grope her breasts. One of the men punch her side and slap her in the face.

"Settle down, it'll be so much easier for you if you don't fight it." He moans as he begins pulling her pants down. She twists her body as much as she can, and tries to kick the hands that are tugging at her pants. Another set of hands is yanking her top, ripping it in the process.

"Dude, look at her ass. The stiff is fucking hot."

Tris can feel the tears pouring from her eyes as she continues to violently struggle against the attack.

"What the fuck are you doing?" Someone yells, causing the attackers to drop Tris, tipping her slightly over the damp railing of the chasm. She hangs on for dear life as she hears the violent fight that's happening near her. Within seconds, she's being pulled up from the railing and cradled.

The person cradling her removes the blindfold and gag.

"Four..." She rasps.

"Shh, I've got you." He whispers as he carries her away from the chasm. She clings to him as he jogs to his apartment door, quickly keying in his code and walking in. He takes her to his couch and lays her down gently.

"Where do you hurt?" He asks.

"I'm ok, my sides are just a little sore." She replies.

"I need to look." She nods when he lifts her tattered shirt. He presses gently on each rib. "Nothing feels broken. Anywhere else?" He asks softly.

"Not really. They slapped and choked me." She replies and he sees the bruising on her face and throat. "They touched me."

Four gets angry at that. He knows they had ripped her clothes, but he was unsure as to how far they went with her.

"Did they...do we need to go to the infirmary?" He asks in a shaky voice.

"No, they didn't, you stopped them." She answers quietly. "What happened to them?"

"I had someone take Drew to the infirmary, I beat the shit out of him. The other two ran. Do you know who they were?" He asks.

"Peter and Al..." Tris says. "I just can't believe Al."

"He's a fucking coward. He's failing, miserably. You're doing extremely well and they're jealous. This is the Edward situation all over again. Tris, I have to report this."

"No. Please don't." Tris asks.

"What? Why? They tried to rape and kill you, Tris." Four replies.

"But they didn't. You saved me. Please, I can't."

"If I hadn't of been there, dammit Tris you know what would have happened." Four replies, running his hands across his short hair in frustration. "They can't get away with this, first Edward, now you? How much more?"

"But Al..." Tris begins and Four cuts her off.

"But Al nothing, he's just as guilty as Peter and Drew!" Four shouts and immediately he sees he's scared Tris. "Oh no, I'm sorry, I shouldn't have yelled at you. Let me find you something to wear." He gently runs his hand over the top of her head before disappearing in to his bedroom. He comes back out with a tshirt and shorts.

"Those are from my initiate days, smallest stuff I own." He says. Tris thanks him before going into the bathroom to change. Tris begins to panic when she thinks about the drive with her aptitude test on it, but she reaches into her pocket and finds it. She slips it into her sports bra and changes into Four's clothes. While the clothes are large on her, they're comfortable, and she soon joins Four on the couch. The two sit close together.

"Tris, I can't just sit back and do nothing. They could have hurt you, or worse. Why don't you want me to report this?" Four asks gently.

"Nothing was done when Edward was stabbed, and if I report them and they just get a slap on the wrist it's going to almost guarantee that they'll kill me. I can't let them think that they've scared me." Tris answers.

"Tris, that's exactly what you have to do if we don't report this. Show vulnerability, make them think they've won. Make them think you're scared." He replies.

"You think I have to pretend to be vulnerable?" She asks.

"I do. You're as tough as nails. Let them think they've won, but whenever you get the chance you ruin them." Four replies as he tucks some loose strands of her hair behind her ears.

"You're kind of scary Four." Tris says with a chuckle.

"Good." He replies with a grin. "Tris, as much as I don't want you to go, did you want me to take you to Eric?"

"He wasn't home. I was actually on my way back from his apartment when they grabbed me. I could go back to the dorms." Tris offers.

"Back to your attackers? Absolutely not." Four shakes his head firmly. "You can stay here until we can find him. You're not going to be able to keep this from him you know." He says quietly.

"I don't want to talk about that right now, please." She asks. Four sees the conflicted look on her face and he decides to change the subject.

"Are you hungry? I can make you something."

"I don't want to trouble you. You've already done so much." Tris replies.

"Your Abnegation is showing again." He smiles. "How about grilled cheese?"

"That sounds good, do you need any help?" She asks.

"Nope, I've got it. You relax." He hands her the remote to his TV as he heads to the kitchen.

Tris looks around Four's apartment. The furniture is comfortable, although sparse. He only has his couch and a coffee table in front of it, along with his wall mounted television and a shelf next to it holding components and some movies. She notices he has the phrase "Fear God Alone" spray painted on one of his walls. She turns the TV on and finds a movie, idly paying attention as her mind wanders. She doesn't know where Eric is, and now she's in Four's apartment wearing his clothes.

Four brings out two plates with grilled cheese, and two glasses of juice. He sits down next to Tris and hands her plate to her.

"Thanks Tobias." She says.

He smiles at her, liking the way his name sounds coming from her. "You're welcome. Dig in." He replies before taking a bite of his sandwich. The two eat in relative silence as they watch the movie.

Tris helps Four clean up their dinner before the two head back to his couch. Four notices that Tris keeps nodding off and eventually she leans her head on his shoulder. He puts his arm around her to keep her from falling, but he moves his arm knowing that if she woke up like that it would make her uncomfortable. He gently lifts her up and places her in his bed, draping his blanket over her. He grabs a pillow and his extra blanket and heads out to the couch.

He contemplates texting Eric, but he decides against it. He wouldn't be able to tell him about Tris being at his apartment right now without telling him about the attack. He decides to try to sleep, and hopes that he's making the right decisions.


	8. Chapter 8

Eric leaves right after the ranks were revealed, heading straight out of the compound and to the train. He doesn't have a destination in mind, he just knows he needs to think without distractions and the train he chose to hop on is one that just circles the city. It's a long round trip, but it'll give him plenty of uninterrupted time to think.

Once he's on the train, he feels bad for leaving without even speaking to Tris, however he wouldn't have known what to say to her. How does he explain that Jeanine is holding his father over him? Or that he's divergent, but he's been tasked with disposing of divergents just like him. How does he even look at his girlfriend knowing that she's his assignment, and that he's expected to gain her trust and then turn her over to Jeanine.

How did he get himself into this mess? All he ever wanted to do was make something of himself. His childhood in Erudite was awful, and the only person who ever treated him like he was worth something was Jeanine.

His mother hated him because he was a constant reminder of whatever man that she claimed got her pregnant and left her to deal with a kid she never wanted. When his mother needed to make a good impression, Eric was paraded out and shown off like a prize. Unfortunately, most of the time he was the caretaker for his mother. One of his earliest memories of her was finding her passed out, hunched over their kitchen table with a needle still hanging out of her arm. There were always needles everywhere in whatever apartment they were living in, there were always random strangers, mostly men who he was instructed to call daddy and his mother moved in with these random men often. Eric never had a permanent home, he sometimes didn't know where his next meal would come from since every penny that was brought into the home was spent on drugs and alcohol.

The children at school were relentless in their bullying of Eric. He often didn't have clothes or shoes that fit, he was gangly and always looked like he needed a good scrubbing. He became painfully shy and withdrawn and he buried himself in his studies. He caught the eye of Jeanine Matthews, who saw potential in the young teenager and took him under her wing.

Jeanine made sure Eric was fed properly, she bought him clothes and she mentored him. She was grooming Eric to one day become an Erudite leader, but when she learned that he wouldn't stay in Erudite under any circumstances she struck a deal with Dauntless. It was easy enough to do, Jeanine had been seeing Max for almost a year when it was time for Eric to take his aptitude test, and when she found out he'd received Dauntless as his result she set a plan in motion. Eric would become a leader in Dauntless, giving her both a powerful existing ally with Max, but also a young and hungry ally in Eric.

His reclusive and aloof nature didn't go unnoticed, and his lack of social graces often got him in trouble. He didn't make friends, he managed to have acquaintances from within his training class, but he kept everyone at arms length. He managed to catch the eye of a Dauntless born named Shauna, not in a romantic way but as someone who would shadow him often when he was working out after hours. They didn't talk much, and often they were joined by her boyfriend Zeke, but the three would silently work out and sometimes quietly offer each other tips. Eric didn't consider it friendship, but for the first time in his life he had someone who respected his work ethic and didn't bully him for his past.

His relationship with Four was troubled from the start. Both boys were built the same, tall, thin and somewhat gangly with basic muscle tone. They had similar personalities, stemming from childhoods that practically mirrored each other's. For every way that Eric was emotionally abused, Four was physically abused. Both boys had something to prove, and although the two could have become staunch allies they became bitter enemies - too consumed in competition to ever get to know each other. Any chance they had of ever forging a friendship was ruined when their trainer Amar died. By this time, the rumor that Eric was planted in Dauntless by Jeanine Matthews was rampant, and many whispered that Eric was involved in the untimely death of Amar. His "suicide" was identical to one that had happened four years prior, a man named George Wu. The men left identical typed notes, they jumped into the chasm without any witnesses or being caught on camera and their bodies were never recovered. It was highly speculated that Jeanine Matthews had orchestrated both deaths due to both men being divergent, and that she'd had inside help to make them look like suicides.

Even though Max wanted Four in leadership, his hand was forced when he was told to make room for Eric too. Four repeatedly turned down all offers of leadership, and Max hadn't been happy with the arrangement that Jeanine forced on him, but Eric set out to prove that he belonged in leadership. He was just as withdrawn and shy as he had been in Erudite, but in Dauntless he was able to reinvent himself. Instead of being the bullied little boy, he became focused and powerful. He built himself up physically, he had always been tall but now he filled out and became muscular and strong. His dark hair had always been kept long, but now he could afford to take good care of it and it became somewhat of his signature look - a long shiny ponytail flowing down his strong back. He got tattoos and piercings, and instead of being considered shy he was considered to be mysterious. He focused completely on his career, impressing Max regularly and getting praise from Jeanine.

Everything was going well up until Jeanine started pushing hard for divergents. While before her belief was they needed to be eliminated, she realized she could study them and use them for her benefit in serum development. Between her demands of Eric regarding them, and the added pressure of a war she was going to wage using a mind controlled army of his fellow Dauntless, Eric was feeling an extraordinary amount of pressure.

This chatotic time of his life is exactly when Tris Prior showed up in Dauntless. He can still remember locking eyes with her at the choosing ceremony. For all intents and purposes, he belonged to her from that moment on. Fearless, brave sometimes to a fault, extremely intelligent and selfless, she came into his life like a tornado and destroyed every wall he'd spent years building. He's only eighteen years old, but for the first time in his life he feels like things are spiraling completely out of his control. Even though he hadn't agreed with Max and Jeanine's orders, he'd been trying to play along until he could find a way to either change their minds or learn to live with the blood that he knew he'd eventually have on his hands. It's not like he had any friends or family to live for anyway, so he might as well do whatever it took to stay in the good graces of leadership. Tris started to change him, she was making him feel things that were foreign to him, and she's divergent. She doesn't even trust him enough to tell him. How is he supposed to change his entire outlook for her when she doesn't feel for him as much as he does for her?

Jeanine's trust is waning and her patience is wearing thin. Eric's at a crossroad now, continuing down Jeanine's path is morally wrong, but it gives him the chance to meet his father, and to also make someone proud of him. Abandoning Jeanine's plan could cost him his leadership, and possibly his life, and he would be doing so because not only does he know it's the right thing to do, but also because he knows it's the only way he could ever win Tris' heart.

Doing what's easy and what's right is rarely the same thing.

Eric looks out of the door to get his bearings and realizes he barely has any time left before he gets back to Dauntless. He's been gone for hours, and guilt quickly rushes in. He wishes that Tris already had her phone, because at this point the only person he could really reach out to to check on her would be Four, and he certainly doesn't want to give the other man an excuse to go looking for his girlfriend. He anxiously waits in the open doorway until the initiate roof entrance comes into view, and he makes the running leap onto the roof. He jumps down to the net, and makes his way to the shared dorm. He's thankful for his quiet tread as he moves around the dorm noiselessly, but he is surprised to find that Tris not only isn't there but her bed is untouched. He peeks over at Christina's bunk and sees an extra body, but quickly realizes it's Will and not Tris.

He quietly exits the dorm, and decides just to check in the old transfer dorm but finds it's also empty. He checks his phone and has no messages or missed calls. He mentally chastises himself for forgetting to give her the code to his apartment before now. He starts to worry at this point, so he heads to the control room. He finds Zeke working inside.

"Eric, what brings you here this late?" Zeke asks, looking extremely tired.

"I have a missing initiate, I was hoping you could give me access to the recordings." Eric replies.

"Sure. Who's missing?" He asks.

"Tris Prior." Eric replies. He sees Zeke's expression change. "What?" Eric asks.

"I saw her on a monitor earlier." He answers vaguely.

"And...?" Eric presses.

"Look Eric, I don't want to get anyone in trouble." Zeke replies nervously.

"What did you see?" Eric growls.

"She was with Four. Look, I can't say anythings going on there, so don't go and bust him for being involved with an initiate or anything..."

Eric cuts him off. "What did you see that would make you think he was _involved_ with her?" Eric asks angrily.

"Fuck. Ok, I'll just show you. Hold on let me get the footage." Zeke replies as he begins pulling feeds. Eric is seething, he's not sure what he's about to see and no matter what he needs to keep his anger in check in front of Zeke. "Ok, here it is."

Eric watches the camera that records hallway activity and he soon sees Four step into frame. He's carrying Tris bridal style, and she's got her arms wrapped around his neck tightly and her head buried in his neck. He watches as Four punches in his apartment code and takes her inside. Eric pulls the elastic holding his ponytail and then runs his hand through his hair in frustration.

"When was this?" He barks.

"Three hours ago." Zeke replies.

"Did they ever exit?" Eric asks.

"No." Zeke answers. Eric pushes a chair violently into a desk and storms out of the room.

Zeke switches to the live feed of Four's hallway and tries calling his friend. It goes to voicemail. He sends a quick text, hoping Four will get it before Eric gets there. He watches as Eric approaches Four's door and begins pounding on it. He turns on audio and he can hear Eric yelling for Four to answer the door. Zeke sees a shirtless Four answer the door and watches as Eric barrels inside his apartment.

"Poor guy. I tried to warn you man." Zeke sighs before kicking his feet up on his desk and watching the camera, waiting to see if the door opens again.

Eric rushes past Four into his apartment. "Where is she?" He growls.

"Eric, calm down. This isn't what it looks like." Four says.

"It looks like you have an initiate in your apartment Four, after curfew."

"Right, like you did recently?" Four spits and Eric steps closer.

"Where the fuck is she?" He yells and he hears the bedroom door open. Tris steps out and he sees she's wearing Four's clothes and her hair is sleep mussed.

"Oh my god, what the hell?" Eric asks. "Why are you in his room Tris? In his clothes? What is going on?"

"Eric, it's not what you think." Tris says as she approaches him and reaches out her hand towards him. He steps away nervously. "He knows about us." She says.

"What?" Eric asks, looking between Four and Tris.

"I know you two are together. It's fine, I'm not going to tell anyone." Four replies as scratches the back of his neck nervously.

"Why'd you tell him? Why are you even here?" Eric asks.

"Sit down. Please?" Tris asks Eric, patting the space on the couch next to her. Eric sits down and he watches as Four slides to take a seat on the floor.

"Before I explain what happened, can you please promise to hear me out before you react?" Tris asks.

"This really isn't a good start." Eric replies angrily. Tris grabs his hand and threads their fingers together. Eric glances at Four and the instructor isn't saying a word. He glances back at Tris and she's staring down at her lap.

"Is someone going to talk?" Eric shouts and Tris flinches next to him.

"She was attacked tonight. Three on one, I found them holding her over the chasm trying to take her clothes off of her." Four spits.

"What? Who?" Eric asks. "Why are you here and not reporting it to Max?!" His anger finally spills out.

"Stop!" Tris shouts. "I asked him not to report it. If the investigation with Edward is any indication, they'll just get a slap on the wrist. Then who's to stop them from killing me?"

"I am." Eric mutters and Tris squeezes his hand.

"You can't protect me 24/7. Besides, we already know that Max isn't going to kick anyone out of Dauntless unless they fail initiation." Tris replies.

"Who was it?" Eric growls.

Tris looks down at her hands. Four replies for her.

"Peter, Drew and Al." Four answers.

"Peter again? For fucks sake he's not going to be happy until he _kills_ someone!" Eric exclaims.

"I think it should be reported too. Tris is against it." Four replies.

"Eric you said it yourself, Max won't kick him out." Tris reasons.

Eric takes a deep breath before answering. "She's right. Max likes Peter, he's got plans for him. Unless he gets caught killing someone on camera I don't think Max will so much as slap him on the wrist. Honestly, he could probably get away with murder too at this point." Eric replies. Four is angry, his hands curled into fists and his face red.

"This is bullshit. You and Max are turning initiation into a bloodbath. It's ruthless!" Four shouts.

"You think I _want_ this? I'm all for free spirited competitiveness, but violence to get into first place is bullshit." Eric replies. "We had no proof against Peter for the Edward thing, other than the fact that he's a shit and ruthless to the point of doing anything to be best. I don't condone violence at all, and do you really think I'd encourage anything like this knowing my girlfriend is the one with the target on her back?"

"Whatever. It's not like you grew a conscious overnight." Four replies angrily.

"Stop fighting. Both of you." Tris says in a firm voice. "Four, thank you for what you did tonight. You saved my life and I appreciate everything. We should go." Tris stands to leave and Eric and Four both stand as well. Tris gives Four a hug, which surprises him but he quickly hugs her back. "I mean it, you saved my life, I will never forget that." She says to him before letting him go.

"Thank you." Eric says quietly.

"I did it for her, not for you." Four replies evenly, glaring at Eric. Tris tugs on Eric's hand and he finally breaks away from Four.

Tris and Eric leave and walk to Eric's apartment. As soon as they're inside, Eric starts checking her for injuries.

"I'm fine." Tris says quietly.

"Did they hurt you? Were they trying to.. sexually assault you?" Eric asks uncomfortably.

"They didn't, Four got there in time." She replies.

Eric takes her in his arms. "I should have been there. I'm so sorry baby." He says quietly as he kisses her cheek.

"You can't be around me all the time." Tris replies.

"Yes I can and I will from now on. I'm so sorry."

"Where'd you go? You seemed so angry at me during the rank release." Tris asks.

"I wasn't angry at you Tris. I needed to clear my head. I just rode the train around the city." He replies.

"Did I do something wrong?" She asks.

"No. I just have a lot on my mind." He replies.

Tris starts worrying immediately. She thinks that Eric is tired of dealing with the drama that keeps plaguing her. Maybe Jeanine has gotten to him after all. What if what Four said is true? What if the outcome is that Eric turns on her anyway, even if he cares about her.

"Hey, where'd you go?" He asks softly. "Look at me." He says and he places a finger below her chin to tilt her face up towards his. "What's wrong?"

Tris sits down on the couch and Eric sits next to her, immediately taking her hand in his.

"She makes me nervous." Tris whispers.

"Who?" He asks.

"Jeanine Matthews." Tris replies softly. She can feel Eric shift next to her.

"Why?" He asks.

Tris turns to look at him. "Doesn't she bother you? The first night we hung out, you seemed a little put off by her."

Eric wonders how to answer her in a way that won't make her either hate him or run screaming from his apartment.

"She's a bit much." He answers carefully.

"Do you trust her?" Tris asks.

"I don't know." Eric answers before thinking. He physically cringes at his response. "Why are you so interested in her?" He asks.

"Because every time you meet with her it puts you on edge. Also, because she seemed super interested in my aptitude test results, why would she care?"

"Because they were unusual." Eric replies.

"So what? I got sick and that somehow captures the attention of a leader of a faction I have nothing to do with. It doesn't make any sense." Tris replies.

Eric runs his hands through his hair, an action that Tris knows he does when he's frustrated. She scoots closer to Eric, straddling his lap and briefly making him too stunned to speak. Tris leans in and presses her lips softly to his. He quickly places both hands on the back her head, and deepens their kiss. Tris pulls back and takes a breath before leaning in again. They continue to kiss until they need to catch their breath.

"Eric, what has she done to you?" Tris whispers against his lips.

"Tris, you can't ask so many questions." He replies softly as he trails his thumbs across her cheeks as his hands move to the back of her head and through her long hair.

"Are you in danger?" She asks, leaning her forehead against his.

Eric sighs deeply, every part of him wants to tell Tris everything. He's tired of carrying the secrets of this project, and he knows without a doubt that he wants nothing more than the woman in front of him.

"No, but you are." He whispers before taking a deep breath in.

Tris' breath hitches as she now realizes that Eric trusts her. "Why, Eric? Why am I in danger?" She asks.

"Tris, I won't let anything happen to you. Do you trust me?" He asks.

"With my life." She replies and Eric crashes his lips into hers. She feels him threading his fingers through her hair as he kisses her deeply. When they break apart Eric leans his forehead against hers.

Tris knows that she needs to find out what side Eric is on, and there's no other way to do it other than to be blunt.

"Are you helping her kill divergents?" Tris asks, looking at Eric.

Eric is stunned. He has no idea how to answer her, or how she would have any idea that was even tasked to him.

"What are you talking about?" He asks.

"You don't have to lie to me, or pretend you don't know anything. Are you helping her? Are you going to participate in her war?" Tris finally asks, putting almost everything she has on the table.

"Tris, how? What? What were you told?" He stammers.

"Eric, you mean so much to me, and I think I mean something to you too. I'm taking my chances here, hoping that you and I will be on the same side of things. We need to be completely honest with each other, starting right now. Please." Tris says.

"How do you know these things?" He asks.

"I'll tell you everything, but Eric I have to know, please." She begs. She can't read his body language and he's betraying no emotions, his hard leader mask is in place.

"I already know that you're divergent." He finally says quietly. He tucks her hair behind her ears and gently cups her cheeks with his hands. "You mean everything to me Tris, do you actually think I would hurt you?" He asks before pressing a soft kiss to her forehead.

Tris releases the breath she didn't realize she was holding. "How long have you known?" She asks.

"Capture the flag." He answers simply.

"Does she know too?" She asks.

"She suspects you are, yes. I've told her repeatedly you have no signs of being divergent. Your sims are problematic though, and today Four erased your sim which is an automatic red flag. Why didn't you tell me, Tris? Why don't you trust me?" He asks.

"I was told that being divergent is extremely dangerous, so I haven't told anyone. Four knows now, because of my sims, and Tori knows because of my aptitude test. Eric, what about the war?" She asks.

"I can see her point about Abnegation holding all the power, but it's fixable without a war." Eric replies. "Tris, how do you know any of this?"

"I had to be sure of you, and once you've seen everything you'll understand why. Do you have your laptop?" She asks and he nods, getting off the couch to get it. Tris pulls the drive out of her sports bra and waits for Eric to return to the room.

He sits his laptop on the coffee table in front of them, and Tris plugs the drive in and plays the recording. She watches Eric for his reactions now that the video is playing.

"What am I watching?" He asks, unable to look away from the screen.

"My aptitude test results. This is what I saw when Tori gave me the serum, and again tonight when I asked Four to record it. That's where I was during dinner, before the attack." She whispers.

She can feel her nerves vibrating throughout her body as Eric watches the recording in awe. When they reach the part of the video where Eric and Tris have their weapons drawn on each other, he reaches for her hand and threads their fingers tightly together. For the first time since entering his apartment tonight, she begins to relax. She scoots closer to Eric, and he immediately takes her into his arms as he continues watching the recording.

The recording finally finishes, and the two sit together in silence. Eric is absentmindedly playing with Tris' hair while she does the same to his, twirling some of the soft dark strands between her fingers.

"So when you took your aptitude test, this is what you saw." Eric states.

"During the aptitude test I only saw the war itself, Tori had to manually stop it. Tonight, I specifically asked Four not to stop the vision unless he thought I was in danger. I made it to the part where he killed you before I woke up." Tris replies and Eric holds her a little tighter.

"And you came to Dauntless to try to stop a war that you had some sort of vision of?" He asks.

"That's a simplified way of looking at it, but it was more than that. I saw something in you, and I felt like I needed to find you." Tris explains, but Eric cuts her off.

"So, we aren't real? Our relationship was just for you to get close enough to me to do your dirty work for you?" Eric asks. His voice is angry, but he's not pulling away from Tris physically. They still cling to each other on his couch.

"We are very real. The first time I saw you during the test, we had guns pulled on each other Eric and I realized that neither of us would shoot to kill the other. We both had a perfect opportunity and we couldn't do it. That alone showed me that you didn't want to be a part of that war, and that we cared about what happened to one another, even if we didn't seem to like each other. When I took the test Tori warned me about you. She told me you were a part of the group that had her divergent brother killed. She told me to align myself with Four. Since I've been here Four has warned me several times about you, that you're working with Jeanine and that you're going to kill me once you find out I'm divergent. I still chose you, every time, and I will continue to do it. I would have come here no matter what, Dauntless is where I've always belonged, but meeting you has been the best thing that's ever happened to me. Please tell me I'm not reading this wrong, Eric." Tris finally laid her soul bare to the man she knows she's fallen for, and as they sit on his couch clutching on to each other she's afraid that now that he knows everything he's going to turn her away.

"You're not reading this wrong." He says, his deep voice barely a whisper. "You are the only thing in this world that matters to me. I won't let Jeanine take you away from me, and I won't sit back and let her hurt your parents. Tris, my loyalty will always be with you. I've never wanted to do Jeanine's bidding for her, and I've not wanted to be a part of this war, I've just been a soldier following orders. It's part of being here, following orders you may not agree with. I don't report to Jeanine, but I do report to Max."

"What are we going to do?" Tris asks finally.

"We're going to stop a war." Eric replies resolutely.

"How?" Tris asks and Eric shakes his head.

"I don't know. I can't think straight right now. It's late and we're both exhausted. Let's sleep, we're both off for the weekend so we can start thinking about this tomorrow. Please Tris, I can't right now." Eric pleads.

Tris can see the pain and exhaustion on Eric's face and she gently places her hand on his cheek. "Yeah, lets go to bed." She replies quietly.

They walk hand in hand back to the bedroom. Tris quickly crawls into bed while Eric strips down to his boxers and then climbs in bed next to her. He pulls his girlfriend close and within minutes they've both succumbed to their exhaustion.


	9. Chapter 9

Eric wakes up when he feels Tris stirring next to him. The sun is barely peeking in through his windows, and he soon notices Tris is talking and thrashing in her sleep.

"Stop!" She screams and jerks awake.

"Tris, baby it's just me. You were having a nightmare. Shhh." Eric soothes as he holds her in his arms as she begins to cry.

"It felt so real." She replies through tears.

"Do you want to talk about it?" Eric asks.

"They grabbed me again, and this time no one came to save me." She sobs.

Eric just pulls her as tight as he can to his chest and tries his best to calm her fears. He's not sure what he can do, so he just continues to hold her and rub soothing circles on her back as she cries. Eventually she seems to have settled down, and when Eric takes a chance to look down at her he sees she's cried herself to sleep.

His mind is too wired to sleep, and it wanders back to the conversation he and Tris had last night about the war. He still can't believe what she showed him from her aptitude test and there's a small part of him that's worried that this relationship is all a farce. Tris told him over and over that she wants to be with him, but he's quite familiar with the process of saying and doing anything to save his own ass so who's to say she's not doing the same exact thing.

If he turns against Max and Jeanine it could mean so much more than just a blip on his perfect leadership record. He's familiar with the way Jeanine works, she's a woman who demands perfection and cooperation, and even though Eric hasn't outright defied her she's already expressed frustration with his lack of results. Although his divergence is under the percentage of Jeanine's concern, her thinly veiled threat was still on the forefront of his thoughts. If he doesn't cooperate, he's just as disposable as the rest of the divergents. He's not pure, but surprisingly neither is she.

Eric has always wanted to know who his father was. It's obvious to anyone who's seen his mother that Eric gets most of his features from his mysterious dad. Eric's mother is fair skinned, with light ice blue eyes and almost platinum blonde naturally curly hair. She's short, and slight in frame. While Eric's skin is also pale, and his eyes grey the rest of him is a mystery. His long, straight almost pitch black hair, large boned frame, genetically muscular build and even the shape of his eyes are completely different. Jeanine hasn't lied to Eric in the past, so the fact that she claims to have found his father completely intrigues Eric. What if his father is on Jeanine's side? What will he think if Eric betrays Jeanine for a girl?

"I'm sorry for waking you up." Tris says quietly.

"I thought you were sleeping." Eric replies as he slightly loosens his grip on his girlfriend.

"I was, I just woke back up. Are you ok?" She asks.

"Shouldn't I be asking you that? You were really upset. They don't have to get away with this. I can still report them Tris."

"No. I don't want to make the target on my back any bigger. I just need to make them think they've won and that I'm afraid of them. Maybe I can find a way to spend more time in my sims." Tris replies.

"Tris, no. You won't sacrifice your spot on the top for those assholes. I will protect you. When I can't be there, you'll have your transfer friends too. As much as I hate to say it, you've also got Four and Uriah. Stick close to them, just not too close. Tris I mean it, I won't let anything happen to you." Eric says.

"I know you won't." Tris replies. "Thank you."

Eric leans in and kisses Tris, and she immediately deepens the kiss. She trails kisses down his throat, pausing to kiss each bar of his leadership tattoo.

"I love your tattoo." She says breathily.

"One day you could have one too." Eric replies. Tris looks up at him with furrowed eyebrows.

"You think I could be a leader?" She asks.

"I do. Once we find a way to get all of the corruption out of Dauntless I think you'd be a great leader."

Tris snuggles in to her boyfriend, and she's faintly aware of the way his hand wanders from her lower back to across her backside.

"I love your butt." Eric says bluntly and Tris laughs.

"Such a romantic." She teases.

"It's a great butt." He replies as he squeezes it. "I also love your eyes."

"Oh really?" Tris asks.

"Mhmm. It's the first thing that I noticed about you. They're perfect. I love how they have all these different colors, mostly green but brown and gold too." He says.

"I noticed your eyes too. They're piercing. I couldn't stop staring at them." Tris replies.

"If you hadn't of seen what you did in your aptitude test, would you have ever talked to me?" Eric asks quietly.

"Yes." Tris replies resolutely.

"How do you know that?" He asks.

"Eric, the first time I saw you in person I was hooked. I never expected to feel so connected to someone like I was to you. It was so much more than a physical attraction that day." Tris explains.

"Do you know you are the only initiate to _ever_ speak to me outside of training since I've been here? You did it almost immediately too." He replies. "As soon as I saw you walking towards me on choosing day I was done for." He chuckles.

"Me too." Tris replies and Eric can feel her smiling against his neck as she places soft kisses there.

"Do you know how much I lo...like you?" Eric asks, hoping that Tris didn't catch his slip.

"How much?" She asks.

"This much." He says before kissing her deeply. When they break, they are both out of breath.

"That's a lot." Tris replies.

"You are my best girl." Eric snickers.

"I'd better be your only girl." Tris says as she pokes Eric in the side.

"Stop that woman!" Eric squirms.

"You're ticklish!" Tris squeals as she straddles Eric, tickling his sides as he thrashes below her laughing so hard he can barely breathe.

Eric quickly flips Tris so she's laying below him. He looks down at her with a wicked grin as he begins to tickle her.

"Do you give up yet?" Eric asks as Tris laughs and squirms below him.

"Yes!" She yells. Eric collapses on her, both laughing. Once they calm down, Eric nuzzles against her neck while Tris plays with his hair. The two lay together in comfortable silence, occasionally sharing kisses. Tris suddenly sits up and scoots her back against the headboard. Eric lays his head in her lap while she continues to play with his hair.

"What's wrong?" He asks.

"How are we going to stop the war?" Tris asks.

"I don't know. We need to think this through." Eric replies as he sits up to join his girlfriend. "Tris, you don't understand. Jeanine is powerful, and if I don't do what she wants she will kill me. She'll kill you too."

"She's threatened your life?" Tris asks.

"Not in so many words, but I know it's there. She's expecting me to cooperate, but she's also hinted that there will be punishment for any failure to comply. We could just leave. We could become factionless." He replies.

"No, there are so many reasons why that can't be our solution. You love Dauntless, and under your leadership it will be a good place again. We can't let thousands of innocent people die. We have to do something to stop this war." Tris says resolutely.

"How? We are two people Tris. We can leave, we can go get your parents and we can go into hiding." He replies.

"We are Dauntless, Eric. We don't hide, and we don't shy away from anything. I think we should get Four over here. And maybe Tori too. They both know about my aptitude test, and they could help us plan something." She replies.

"Do you think they'll actually work with me?" Eric asks.

"Yes. They trust me." Tris answers. Eric hands Tris his cell phone and she scrolls through his contacts, calling Four first.

"What?" Four answers irritably.

"It's me. Can you come to Eric's apartment?" Tris asks.

"Are you ok? Did he hurt you?" Four asks quickly.

"I'm fine. Of course he didn't hurt me, he's on our side." She replies. There's silence on the other end of the line. "Four?"

"I'll be right there." He answers before disconnecting.

"He thought I hurt you?" Eric asks.

"He doesn't know you like I do. No one does." She replies as she searches for Tori's number. She dials Tori and puts her on speakerphone.

"Hello?" Tori answers hesitantly.

"Hey, it's me." Tris replies.

"Tris? Why are you calling from Eric's phone? Are you ok?" She asks. Tris watches Eric roll his eyes.

"I don't get my own phone until I'm a full member, and I'm fine. Can you come to Eric's apartment?" She asks.

"Tris, why on earth are you with him? What's going on?" Tori asks.

"He's on our side. Four is already on his way, can you come too?" Tris asks.

"I'll be right there." Tori replies before hanging up.

"So, do you have any friends who _don't_ think I'm a murderous psychopath?" Eric asks irritably.

"You've said it yourself that you're the most hated person in the faction." Tris replies cheekily.

"Tris, this isn't funny. You've just invited two people to my apartment who hate me and think I am capable of hurting my own girlfriend." Eric replies.

"We will have a chance to explain everything to them." Tris replies. She leans in and kisses Eric hard, with more passion than she's ever been comfortable with showing. They are still in their heated make out session when they are interrupted by a sharp knock on the door. Eric groans.

"I need to calm down before I see them." He says and Tris furrows her eyebrows at him.

"You're mad?" She asks.

"No. Something else." He replies as he presses himself against her so she can feel his hardened length. She moans softly in response and moves her hips towards him. "That is definitely not helping. I'm going to the bathroom, you can let them in." He says before kissing the tip of her nose and then rushing down the hallway.

Tris goes to the door and finds both Four and Tori there. She invites them both inside and they take a seat on the couch.

"What's going on Tris?" Tori whispers.

"He's on our side. He knows everything." Tris whispers back.

"Are you insane?" Tori says loudly. Tris looks at her sharply.

"Be quiet! He already thinks you both hate him, if you act like that it's going to scare him off!" Tris whispers.

"Well I don't exactly like him." Tori replies.

"Ditto. Where is he?" Four asks.

"He'll be right out. Please just give him a chance, for me." Tris pleads. She watches as Tori nods her head and Four takes a deep breath in, exhaling slowly.

"I don't like this." He replies, shaking his head. "I'm only doing this for you."

"Well I appreciate you both coming here. Do either of you want anything to drink?" She asks.

"Do you live here now or something?" Four asks.

"She can if she wants to. It'd probably be safer than the dorms, especially considering what happened last night." Eric replies as he walks into the room. Tris sees his hair is wet, and when he takes his seat next to her on the loveseat she feels how cold his hand is. She realizes he had to take a cold shower and she internally chuckles.

"I'm sure you'd like that." Four replies with a hint of anger.

"What do you mean considering what happened last night?" Tori asks.

"You didn't tell her?" Eric asks Tris and she shakes her head.

"What in the hell is happening here?" Tori asks.

"She was attacked last night. Three on one, I found them holding her over the chasm trying to take her clothes off of her." Four replies.

"Oh my god, who did this?" Tori exclaims.

"Peter, Drew and Al." Four answers.

"I'm telling you, they're not going to be happy until they finally succeed in killing someone." Eric growls.

"This has happened before?" Tori asks incredulously.

"We are pretty sure Peter's who stabbed Edward in the eye." Eric replies.

"Why aren't you doing anything about him?" Tori asks, her voice raised.

"I want to, believe me. This goes way beyond competitiveness, and the violence to get into first place is bullshit." Eric replies. "We had no proof against Peter for the Edward thing, other than the fact that he's a shit and ruthless to the point of doing anything to be best."

"That's all the more reason to report him now. You have proof, she's the victim and she could testify." Tori replies.

"Max doesn't care." Eric admits. "He didn't care when Edward got stabbed either. He's too wrapped up in other things to worry about initiates fighting amongst themselves."

"Even if they _kill_ each other?" Tori asks.

"Even then." Eric sighs. "If we were to report this, Peter and company would get a stern talking to. Then, after that they'd be back after her with even more of a vengeance."

"Lets drop this, please. We need to talk about the real reason we asked you to be here." Tris adds.

"Yes, what exactly is going on, why are we here?" Tori presses.

"The war is real." Tris replies. Tori's eyes widen.

"So you're working with Jeanine?" Tori spits at Eric.

"Not by choice. She has Max in her back pocket, and I report to him." Eric replies.

"Do you want this war?" Four asks.

"No." He replies.

"Because of her." Tori gestures towards Tris.

"She's part of it, but I was against this before I knew she was divergent, and before I knew about her aptitude test." Eric replies.

"You actually believe him?" Tori asks.

"I do. He's not the person either of you think he is." Tris answers.

"I'll tell you the same thing I told her, you're not going to do a 180 just because you like kissing her." Four replies.

"There's not a 180 to be done. I've never wanted to do any of the shit Jeanine is forcing on me. Even if I did, you're wrong about one thing - I'd do _anything_ for her." Eric replies.

"So, if Tris were to walk out of this room and tell you she never wanted to see you again you'd still want to find a way to thwart Jeanine's plans?" Tori asks.

Eric feels the fear creeping in, and he looks over at his girlfriend sitting quietly next to him. She's watching him, gripping his hand in hers, and rubbing her free hand over their entwined fingers.

"She wouldn't leave me." Eric replies quietly. "But to answer your question, if she did I'd still want nothing to do with Jeanine's plans. I haven't from the beginning. But, as you both know, when you're Dauntless sometimes it means following orders you don't agree with. It's no secret that I have no friends here, so who the hell was I supposed to turn to?"

"Fine. Tell us what you know." Four says. "Start with why Jeanine is obsessed with divergents."

"She believes they have no place in any specific faction, she thinks they are going to ruin our society." Eric answers. "The more I think about it, the more I believe she's afraid of them because they can't be controlled. Jeanine is all about control."

"So she's told you to kill them?" Tori asks.

"Not exactly. She's looking for something specific, one that is greater than 70 percent divergent. I don't know why, but I was told to bring her anyone who was more than 70 percent." Eric answers.

"How the hell are you supposed to know a percentage?" Four asks.

"Last night she brought me this scanning device. You literally point it, pull the trigger and it reports a divergence percentage while it breaks down the factions. Max has ordered me to use it on the initiates. I was told to say it's a prototype to replace the aptitude test if anyone were to question what it was." Eric explains.

"Where is it?" Tris asks.

"My office. I didn't want to deal with it, so I left it in there last night and took a train ride to clear my head. That's why I wasn't here when Tris was attacked." Eric picks up their entwined hands and places a kiss on Tris' knuckles.

"So what are you supposed to do with the ones who are under 70 percent?" Tori asks.

Eric looks down at his and Tris' hands and he gently rubs circles on hers with his thumb. This is the part he hasn't wanted to talk about. Admitting out loud what Jeanine expects him to do is the one thing that he believes that Tris would leave him for.

"Eric...?" Tris says in a quiet voice. He doesn't respond.

"She wants you to kill them right? How many have you already killed Eric?" Four asks. Tris' attention immediately moves to Four and Eric can feel her stiffen next to him.

"Eric, have you killed anyone?" Tori asks.

"No! Of course not. This assignment just started a couple of weeks ago and I've been able to kind of ignore it and bullshit my way through it. Now that she's given me this stupid damn device the pressure is on. She's already expecting a report on Monday evening." Eric replies.

"Were you going to just go along with her plans if you hadn't met Tris?" Tori asks.

Eric is once again scared to answer the question. He glances at Tris and her expression is unreadable.

"I don't know." He finally admits. "I didn't want to, I never have. Jeanine was pretty much the only person who gave a damn about me. She could have convinced me."

"You would have just killed people Eric?" Tris asks quietly. Both Tori and Four can see the conflict in her eyes.

"It was orders from Max, and fuck I had nobody before you Tris. Just my job, and Jeanine. That's it. I've never actually known anyone who's divergent, so if the one person in my life who seemed to care about me said enough maybe I would have been convinced that divergence was something awful. I love being a leader, it's the only thing that I've ever been really good at, so if my head leader gave me a direct order it's possible I would have followed it. I've said it before, being Dauntless means sometimes following orders you don't necessarily agree with."

"Blindly. Like a fucking sheep." Four growls.

"You know it's the truth though Four. It's part of being a good soldier. You've said it yourself many times." Eric spits.

"While that might be true, you still need to have morals. You should know right from wrong!" Four shouts.

"This isn't helping. What matters is what side he's on now. Can we focus on that?" Tris asks.

"How do we know who's side he's really on?" Four seethes.

"He's on _my_ side!" Tris shouts and Tori quickly tries to diffuse the situation with a subject change.

"Can you go get the scanner device?" Tori asks Eric.

"Yeah." Eric answers sharply before turning his attention to Tris. "Will you be ok?" He asks quietly.

"Without you? She'll be more than ok." Four answers angrily and Eric tries to move towards Four. Tris' tight grip on his hand makes him reconsider, and he stays beside her.

"Four, that's enough!" She warns the other man, her hazel eyes fiery. She turns towards Eric. "I'll be fine, and right here when you get back." He leans in and kisses her gently before leaving the apartment.

As soon as Eric leaves Tori and Four both gape at Tris.

"What are you thinking? You not only tell him about your aptitude test, you also start dating him? Or whatever this is? I told you to stay away from him!" Tori admonishes.

"I did too." Four shakes his head.

"Did you not just hear him open up to you two? Did you not hear him say he doesn't want anything to do with Jeanine and her plans?" Tris asks, astonished that her friends are treating Eric so callously.

"Just because he's telling us what she has planned doesn't mean he won't play us." Four replies. "You heard him, the pressure's on for him to deliver. Now that he knows you're divergent, who do you think will be the first one he brings her?"

"He wouldn't turn me in!" Tris shouts. "We're going to stop this war."

"Tris, there are three of us and potentially thousands of them. They're going to have all of Dauntless under some sort of mind control, you saw that." Tori says. "How do you think we can stop this with everything stacked against us?"

"I can't let them die. So many people die in this war. I can't..." Tris says with tears in her eyes.

"He's going to be a big reason they die Tris. You saw it yourself, he shoots you. He chases you down when we're in Amity." Four says and Tori gapes at him, realizing not only has Tris shown him her aptitude test, but he's seen much more than Tori did. "He shoots people point blank in Candor. That machine we just sent him to get is more than likely the same one we saw him with in Candor. Tris, he's not a good person."

"He is a good person. He just needs someone to believe in him. The only people who trust him and believe in him now are Max and Jeanine. Four, you kill him in Candor, right in front of me. You make him sit on his knees and you shoot him in his head, I can't let that happen." Tris is crying harder now.

"When push comes to shove, he's a junior level leader who will be expected to follow orders. You think he will throw that all away for you? He's been here two years and all he's ever done is work. No socializing, no friendships, no relationships and no fun. You just heard him admit that if the orders come from Max he would follow them. He's dedicated to being a leader, I'm telling you right now he's not going to change that to be with you." Four replies.

"You act like he doesn't care about me at all! Like he's incapable of having feelings for anyone. Is there something wrong with me? Am I such a horrible, hideous person that no one could possibly want me?" Tris asks with anger evident in her voice.

"You know damn good and well that's not the case Tris. I want you, I care about you. The difference between my feelings and his feelings are mine are real. He's playing you! I've known him a lot longer than you Tris!" Four shouts.

Tori places her hand on Four's arm in an attempt to calm the young man down. She realizes emotions are running high due to the fact that both Four and Eric seem to have feelings for Tris.

"Tris, what if you're seeing what you _want_ to see in him and not what he really is?" Tori asks gently.

"That's what I keep asking. She's convinced that what she's done up until now is enough to change what she sees him do during her aptitude test. Her vision or whatever." Four says, looking at Tori when he speaks. He turns his attention back to Tris before continuing. "I asked you yesterday what if everything you've done so far is exactly what leads you to what you saw Tris?" Four asks.

"He's not that person. He's different. The person in that vision had no one that believed in him." Tris replies.

"What if that is the changed version? What if his relationship with you is the only reason he doesn't shoot you point blank when he has his gun on you. What if he only spares your life, but kills countless others?" Tori asks.

"That's _exactly_ what we saw last night when she was under the effect of the aptitude test serum. He spared her life, but killed so many others." Four adds.

Tris sits back on the loveseat and looks at the ceiling. If she's completely honest with herself, not only does she know that what Tori and Four are saying is a possibility, she also knows it makes sense and fits in with what she's seen so far. Last night, she watched as Eric mercilessly killed Divergents without a second thought, but he continued to spare her life. What if this is their future?

"Tris, why are you clinging to this false hope with Eric?" Tori asks gently.

"Because I love him!" Tris cries out, not realizing the door had opened and Eric is now in the room. "It's not false hope. I love him and I think he loves me too. I'm not asking him to change anything to be with me, he's doing that on his own because he wants to be a good man and he wants to do the right things! He's putting himself in danger by talking to us about Jeanine's plans! Do you understand what that woman is capable of? You both treat him just like everyone else in his life has, and yet you expect him to thank you for it and to trust you implicitly. I love him, I trust him and I believe in him, and if you both can't trust him you can get the fuck out right now and Eric and I will figure this out on our own!" Tris begins sobbing, her resolve finally crumbling under the intense scrutiny of her two friends.


	10. Chapter 10

Eric rushes to get to his office and pick up the scanner, he doesn't want to leave Tris for too long, especially with the tension that was in the air before he left his apartment. He's jogging down his hallway with a box under his arm when he hears shouting coming from his apartment. He quickly walks inside, and finds that Tris is defending him to Four and Tori.

"Because I love him!" Tris cries out. "It's not false hope. I love him and I think he loves me too. I'm not asking him to change anything to be with me, he's doing that on his own because he wants to be a good man and he wants to do the right things! He's putting himself in danger by talking to us about Jeanine's plans! Do you understand what that woman is capable of? You both treat him just like everyone else in his life has, and yet you expect him to thank you for it and to trust you implicitly. I love him, I trust him and I believe in him, and if you both can't trust him you can get the fuck out right now and Eric and I will figure this out on our own!" Tris begins sobbing, her resolve finally crumbling under the intense scrutiny of her two friends.

"What are you two doing to her?" Eric yells as he rushes to her side, pulling her into his lap and wrapping his arms around her. He threads his fingers through her hair. "It's ok Tris. I love you too. It's ok, I'm here. Don't cry baby, I love you." He says to the sobbing girl in his arms. He continues to stroke her hair as he lowers his voice and whispers in her ear. "We'll figure this out Tris, you and me baby. I'm always going to be with you."

Four and Tori exchange glances, both completely surprised at the scene playing out in front of them. The cold, ruthless and impenetrable young leader is gently soothing and caressing the young woman he just professed his love for.

"If this is an act, he's one hell of a good actor." Tori whispers quietly to Four.

Four continues to stare at the couple across from him. The entire time he's known Eric he's never once seen the other man have so much as a friendship. He's had no family to come visit him on visiting day, he's never socialized, he's never had a conversation that didn't have something to do with Dauntless and he's surely never shown anyone affection. Four is at a loss, he's completely shocked at seeing a side of Eric he's never known existed.

"You're telling me you trust him?" Four whispers back. Tori simply shrugs her shoulders.

"I'm telling you that _she_ does. Look at them. They're in love Four, and they're going to try to find a way to end this war with or without us. We need to be there for her no matter what." Tori whispers.

They both watch as Eric continues to soothe Tris, and they pay close attention to how the two interact. There is an obvious level of trust between the two, and their hope is that Tris' decision to both love and trust the young leader isn't misguided. For the first time they both wonder if Tris is right, that love and having the right types of people care for him might be what Eric needs, and that he could possibly be the catalyst to stopping Jeanine.

Eric continues to comfort his girlfriend, while he shoots glares at both Four and Tori. Tris takes a deep breath, her tears have dried and she's taking comfort in Eric's embrace but not looking at anyone in the room.

"Do you want me to make them leave?" Eric whispers close to her ear so only she can hear it. She shakes her head no.

Eric looks over at Tori and Four and speaks in a deadly quiet voice. "You two can hate me all you want. You can aim whatever shit you want at me, I don't care, I can take it. I have for the two years that I've been here, and for my entire life in Erudite before. But you won't come here, where it's just as much her home as it is mine, and disrespect her like that ever again. She doesn't owe either of you an explanation in regards to what her and I have, and if you have a problem with me you deal with me. If you have questions about me or my intentions towards Tris, you ask me. You will not ever put her in a position where she is forced to defend me, or our relationship again. Do I make myself clear?"

"Sorry." Four mumbles, barely making eye contact with Eric.

"We didn't mean to upset her." Tori quietly adds.

Eric says nothing more, instead he holds his girlfriend tight, with one hand entwined with hers and the other playing with her hair. Once Tris has calmed down, Four breaks the uncomfortable silence in the room.

"I'm sorry Tris." He says quietly. Tris still sits with Eric's arm protectively wrapped around her while she clutches his hand, but she's considerably calmer and her thoughts are more collected.

"Me too, I owe you an apology." Tori adds.

"If we're going to do this we need to work together, and we need to trust each other." Tris replies. "I mean it, if you two can't find a way to trust Eric and work with him then just leave. He and I are together, you will either accept it and we can move on or you don't accept it and you can show yourself out the door."

"Tris, we've been here for two years with him. You have to understand why we'd be at least the slightest bit leery of him." Four replies.

"I know the two of you have known Eric much longer than I have, but can we all admit that I probably know him better?" Tris asks.

"That's an understatement if I've ever heard one." Eric mumbles.

"Look, it takes two people to have a conversation and form a friendship. You aren't the easiest person to get to know, because you love to push people away. You tried with me." Tris says to Eric. He gives her a small grin.

"Ok, fair enough. I can admit that I don't exactly welcome people into my life or space. Before Tris, I liked being alone, and it was just easier to let people hate me than to try to change their minds about me. At least I was respected." He shrugs and sighs before continuing. "But, the issues that we have, they're not just because of me. Neither of you have given me a fair chance since I transferred." Eric replies.

"You're right, on all counts. We judged you without knowing you, and you've kept us, and everyone else at arms length." Tori replies.

"It's all of our faults. Agree or disagree?" Eric says, glancing at Four and Tori.

"I think that we can agree with that." Tori replies.

Four and Eric just glare at each other until Tris breaks their concentration. "And you two are almost exactly alike. Moody, quiet, mysterious. Both of you have defense mechanisms that try to push anyone away who gets too close." Tris says. "The main difference is that Four can be personable in a public situation, or at least he can after he's done being an ass while Eric keeps his redeeming qualities well hidden."

Four actually laughs at Tris' comments, breaking through some of the tension in the room. Tori joins in and even Eric has to crack a smile.

"Ok, fine, you're right. Now, show us how that thing works." Four says, pointing at the box Eric left by the loveseat.

Eric pulls the device out of the box and points it at Four who immediately jumps off of the couch. "Fuck no, you're not pointing that thing at me."

Eric rolls his eyes. "Fine. Point it at me, pull the trigger." He hands the device over to Four.

"Divergence twenty eight percent. Dauntless seventy two percent, Erudite twenty eight percent." The mechanical voice reports.

"Holy shit. You're divergent." Tori says. Eric just shrugs.

"According to Jeanine, anything under thirty percent doesn't count. However, she was definitely very discretely threatening me after hearing those results. Ironically, Jeanine herself had two percent Candor." Eric replies.

Four hands the device back to Eric. He takes it and points it at Four.

"No, not yet." Four replies and Eric lowers the device.

"I'm not going to turn you in." Eric offers.

"Forgive me if I'm not quite sure of that yet." Four replies.

"I haven't turned anyone in! I don't want anything to do with her stupid divergent hunt. Tris is right, I'm implicating myself by telling you any of this, I've put a target on my own back and yet you still won't give me an inch." Eric growls out in frustration. Tris scowls at the exchange.

"You can scan me." Tris says. Eric looks at her and shakes his head.

"No, that's not necessary." He replies.

"I trust you." Tris replies. Tori and Four are both on edge as they watch the exchange. "Eric, please."

Eric takes a deep breath before pointing the scanner at Tris. He pulls the trigger.

"Divergence one hundred percent. Dauntless fifty percent, Erudite thirty percent, Abnegation ten percent, Candor seven percent, Amity three percent." The mechanical voice reports.

"Oh my god." Eric says as he lowers the scanner. "You're who she's looking for."

Tori and Four watch Eric closely. His face is a mask, hiding whatever emotions that are swirling in his mind. Eric picks up the device and scans her again.

"Divergence one hundred percent. Dauntless fifty percent, Erudite thirty percent, Abnegation ten percent, Candor seven percent, Amity three percent." The mechanical voice reports.

"I guess I really don't belong anywhere." Tris says quietly.

"You belong right here in Dauntless with me." Eric replies as he presses a kiss to her lips. "I'm not going to let her take you from me. I won't let anything happen to you."

"My turn." Tori says. Eric gives her a surprised look. "Come on. Point and click."

"Divergence zero percent. Dauntless one hundred percent." The mechanical voice reports.

"I always knew you were as Dauntless as they come." Four says with a smile.

"You kids." Tori laughs while shaking her head.

"Get it over with." Four says to Eric. Eric quirks an eyebrow up, but obliges and points the device at Four.

"Divergence ninety nine percent. Dauntless sixty percent, Abnegation twenty percent, Erudite ten percent, Candor ten percent." The mechanical voice reports.

Eric watches as Four and Tris exchange glances.

"Wow. We have more in common than our Abnegation roots, huh?" Four asks.

"It seems that way." Tris replies.

"You two are what Jeanine wants. How do we protect them?" Tori asks.

"Both of them are already on her radar. I keep telling her that they're not divergent." Eric replies. "We have to keep anyone from scanning them though."

"I may be a high percent divergent, but Tris is exactly who she wants. A pure divergent is unheard of. Does that thing keep a record?" Four asks.

"Not to my knowledge." Eric replies, handing the machine to Four. He examines it at length.

"I don't see how it could. It's a very rudimentary device. I'm sure if they keep up with their developments they'll come up with something much more sophisticated." Four replies.

"Eric, how do they plan on creating their army?" Tris asks.

"They have a long range mind control serum. They plan on injecting everyone after this initiation class. They've been shipping supplies here for it." Eric replies.

"I've seen that. Computers and serums too." Four adds.

"Where would they be able to set that all up?" Tris asks.

"They said something about a control room, but there's no way they can get all of that equipment in our control room." Eric replies.

"There's an old control room, it's pretty well hidden, and probably not even used anymore. But, it's where all the main servers were up until the new control room was built and upgraded. I'd say it was last used maybe five or six years ago. That'd be my guess." Tori replies.

"Do you know how to get to that room?" Four asks and Tori nods.

"I used to work in it before switching to tattooing. I never was much for technology, it bored me." Tori replies.

"We can destroy the equipment." Tris says.

"That won't be enough. Jeanine's smart, she must have a backup in case any of this equipment malfunctions or gets damaged." Four adds.

"Everything will be here the day of the attack. She wants to make sure that everything leads back to Dauntless physically. Max agreed to it, basically it's an insurance policy that if things go south they're both equally liable." Eric answers.

"Why on earth would Max agree to any of this?" Tori asks.

"Because he and Jeanine are involved. Sexually. Maybe emotionally too, I don't know. But there's definitely a non professional relationship going on there." Eric replies.

"How do you know?" Four asks, the surprise evident in his tone and by the look on his face.

"Well, I haven't witnessed any of it obviously, however it became evident with the way they were acting in the meeting we had last night. Ironically enough, they were grilling me about my interest in Tris when it became clear to me that they were the ones who were having an inappropriate relationship." Eric replies.

"They know about you two?" Tori asks.

"Max suspected something was going on, but Jeanine doesn't think so. She went so far as to actually laugh at the idea of me being involved with anyone. She doesn't think I'm capable of loving someone either." Eric replies, glaring at Four. "As far as they're concerned, Tris is just an assignment for me."

"Ok, so how do you suggest we stop this?" Tori asks.

"If we try to destroy anything beforehand, they'll find out. But, we can stop the entire thing as soon as it starts." Eric says.

"So, you're suggesting we let it actually begin before we do anything?" Four asks incredulously.

"Yes. I can assign you, Uriah and Zeke to the control room." Four shoots his eyebrows up at Eric. "Look, don't pretend like you don't know, the serum isn't going to work on either you or Uriah, and I suspect it won't work on Zeke either." Four looks down at the floor and shakes his head. "Anyway, you three need to act like it is working, and once you're in there you watch the monitors and let us make it to Abnegation. Then, you'll basically destroy everything and anything. Kill the program, wipe it, kill the servers, kill the equipment. Do whatever you have to do to end it, blow shit up if you have to. You know technology better than anyone in this faction, you can get in there and shut it down."

"What about me, the serum isn't going to work on me either." Tris says.

"She's going to send me after you. My job is to bring you to her. She thinks I am working on your trust as part of that assignment. So, you'll pretend that the serum is working on you, and I'll be with you the entire time 'watching' you. Four should have the entire thing shut down before we really have to do anything, so when the time comes we go after Jeanine. She'll be in a bunker in Abnegation. Now Tori, I'm going to dye some of the antiserum and inject you with it myself. You'll need to play along when it starts, but stick close to Tris and me." Eric replies.

"Can you do the fake serums for Will and Christina too? We can trust them Eric, they'll help us with Jeanine." Tris asks.

"Yeah, I should be able to. Four, as soon as you guys shut everything down you'll need to be careful because some of Jeanine's followers will be inside of Dauntless. Be prepared to fight if necessary." Eric says.

"How many Dauntless are willingly involved Eric?" Four asks.

"Max and I are the only ones I know of. He and I do have a meeting scheduled this upcoming week to select who we can trust to forego the injections and join her cause." Eric replies. "So, there will be Dauntless here onsite who are not divergent, but are awake during the mind control because they won't receive the injection of the serum." Eric replies.

"What if we put our allies on that list?" Four asks.

"I don't know if it would work, I obviously can't suggest you or Tris since Jeanine is already after your divergence. We could try getting Tori on it, maybe Will and Christina. Zeke and Uriah too." Eric replies.

"Does she suspect Zeke or Uriah?" Tori asks.

"Not at all. The main two are Tris and Four. Something about two Abnegation transfers to Dauntless, both children of high ranking government officials put them pretty much at the forefront of her thoughts." Eric replies.

"Who is Max thinking of letting in?" Four asks.

"I have a feeling Peter is his top choice, which is why he continues to look the other way and let Peter get away with anything." Eric replies.

"I just thought of something, does Max know that I'm friends with Will and Chris? Or Uri?" Tris asks.

"Damn. It's possible. He has someone watching already, especially since he knew I'd shown you affection in public." Eric replies.

"Will you be able to get us a list of those names?" Tori asks.

"I should be able to." Eric replies. "I just need everyone who's in that control room with you to be ready for anything once you've stopped the sim." Eric says to Four.

"Not a problem. We'll be prepared." Four replies. "We'll make our way to Abnegation to help with Jeanine as soon as we can."

"What about capturing Jeanine? She's going to be guarded heavily, isn't she? And Max?" Tris asks.

"We will have to hope that the Dauntless that are in Abnegation will be willing to help us once they are out of the sim." Eric replies.

"They will, you will lead them." Tris says, looking Eric in the eyes.

"I just hope they'll trust me." He sighs.

"You'll make them. Look, when you're actually willing to talk to someone you're pretty damn convincing. Be more than just an angry asshole, you'll get their respect. Be a real person." Tori says.

"Ditto, to everything she just said." Four replies.

"Ok, point taken. We should meet again, get Uriah, Zeke, Will and Christina. Is there anyone else you guys trust?" Eric asks.

"Actually yeah. Trust me?" Four asks.

"I don't have a choice now, do I?" Eric smirks.

"You always have a choice." Four replies, but Eric notices he's looking at Tris when he says it.

"Yeah, you do." Eric replies, pulling Tris closer to his side.

Tris is uncomfortable with the exchange and Tori immediately picks up on the younger girl's discomfort.

"Jesus Christ. Are one of you going to pee on her next to mark their territory? Focus on the real issues." Tori replies, not hiding her exasperation. "Four, she's made her choice already. You may not like it, but you need to respect what they have. You may not like Eric, but she does. Deal with it."

"I'll second that." Tris says, but she squeezes Eric's hand in reassurance.

Four looks at Eric, the two men once again glaring at each other, each trying to intimidate the other. They've never gotten along, and adding a young woman that they both obviously have feelings for into their rivalry is adding fuel to an already raging inferno.

"If you fuck up, actually no, _when_ you fuck up I won't hesitate." Four says in a low tone.

"Don't hold your breath." Eric replies.

"Enough, both of you. We have much more important issues than your petty rivalry bullshit. We need to iron out the wrinkles in our plans." Tris says. She's trying to stay calm, but between Eric's jealousy and Four's insistence on pushing all of Eric's buttons she's exasperated. Her anger is subtle enough that Four doesn't notice, but Eric realizes that both the tension in her posture and the tightness of her voice are betraying the calm facade she's projecting.

"I'm sorry." He whispers in her ear before pressing his lips gently to her cheek. She turns towards him and brushes her lips against his before taking a deep breath and turning her focus to Tori and Four again.

"I'll be able to bring some trustworthy people in too. Should we meet here next Friday?" Tori asks.

"Yeah, that works. I'll make sure that Tris has the code to the door, so if I'm drug into another meeting you can start here without me. We have three weeks until D-Day." Eric replies.

"Look, not to be the devil's advocate here, but you've already said that Jeanine and Max both have questioned your loyalty to their cause, and have made veiled threats towards you. Who's to say they are going to continue to trust you?" Tori asks Eric.

Eric shifts uncomfortably next to Tris, but begins talking despite his obvious discomfort towards the topic. "Jeanine has found an insurance policy, so to speak. Something she knows she can hold over my head in exchange for my cooperation."

"Great, she has dirt on you and you're asking us to trust you?" Four scoffs.

"What do you even fucking know Four?!" Eric yells and Tris grips his hand harder.

"I know that if Jeanine has something on you there's no guarantee that you won't turn against us once Jeanine dangles whatever fucking carrot she has. You should have told us this up front!" Four yells back.

"Eric, what does she have on you?" Tris asks calmly. Eric looks at his girlfriend, trying to focus on her as if she's the only person in the room.

"She says she knows who my father is, that he's on her side and he wants to meet me, but only if I continue to cooperate." Eric replies. He refuses to look at anyone else in the room.

Tris notices that Tori's expression has hardened at Eric's confession, but the older woman makes no effort to speak.

"Awesome, it's a whole family affair. Let me guess, your mother is working with her too, they probably braid each other's hair and share their favorite stories about their loyal little lap dog." Four sneers.

Eric jumps up from the loveseat, shrugging Tris' hand off of him. Tris tries to restrain him but he's too quick, and soon he and Four are standing nose to nose.

"I've never met my so called father, and my mother is nothing more than a strung out hooker. You don't know shit about my life, so keep your fucking mouth shut." Eric replies in a deadly cold voice, laced with anger. Tris can feel him vibrating beneath the hand she has on his arm.

Four's expression changes just slightly, even though he doesn't back away from Eric. Thankfully, neither man does anything more than puff their chests a bit, but the tension in the room is thick and uncomfortable.

"Poor Eric. Mommy didn't give you enough hugs growing up? It's a pity." Four sneers and Eric pushes his shoulder into Four's. Tris begins tugging at Eric's arm, while Tori tries to step in between the two hotheads. Tori shudders at the exchange between the two younger men, she wants to speak with Eric alone but now is not the time. Tris finally breaks the tension in the room.

"That's enough, both of you! What are we going to accomplish by fighting amongst ourselves? There is going to be a war in just a few weeks unless we can stop it, and the two of you can't grow up and set your differences aside long enough to focus on the bigger picture. Why do you two even hate each other so damn much?" Tris asks angrily. She firmly grasps Eric's hand and drags him away from Four.

"Sit down, both of you." Tori orders and surprisingly both men return to their seats. Tris takes her place next to Eric while Tori sits near Four on the couch.

"My issue is that he was planted here by Jeanine to do her dirty work." Four growls.

"He wasn't planted here..." Tris yells but Eric places his hand firmly on her arm and stops her.

"You're right. Jeanine did plant me here, but it was against my knowledge." Eric replies.

"Against your knowledge? That's rich Eric. So you're finally willing to admit that you don't deserve anything you have? Leadership, respect, her..." Four gestures at Tris.

"Let him explain." Tori says firmly. Eric looks up at the older woman in surprise and he continues speaking.

"You assume a lot, but you've never given me a chance to know if what you've assumed is reality. Jeanine took me under her wing when I was fourteen. She felt sorry for me, my mother didn't give a shit about me or actually taking care of me, every penny that came into the household went to drugs and alcohol. I never had shit and I was the target for some pretty extreme bullying. Jeanine started buying me clothes and shoes that actually fit, she'd feed me and even let me get a hot shower at headquarters since she knew that I didn't really have any type of permanent home. I spent my entire childhood taking care of my mother, whether it be cleaning her up after she'd fallen asleep in her own puke, or pulling the needle out of her arm when she passed out from the heroin. We moved from apartment to apartment of whatever man she was fucking at the time, each time she'd tell me to call the asshole daddy. I grew up around drugs, needles, alcohol, sex in front of me and the true icing on the cake was the sexual abuse I put up with for months by one of the fuckers she made us live with." Eric feels Tris squeeze his hand harder and when he looks over at his girlfriend he sees the tears trailing down her face. He leans in and kisses her, wiping the tears away with his free hand before continuing.

"Jeanine saw that I had potential, so she started grooming me for Erudite leadership. I didn't know that was her plan, I simply thought she was helping me to learn coping skills because of my family life. When she finally confided her plans with me I told her I wasn't staying in Erudite under any circumstances, because of my mother, her boyfriends, the abuse and the bullying that made me wish I were dead. When I got Dauntless on my aptitude test, Jeanine had made a deal with Max completely unbeknownst to me. You have to understand, when I arrived here I set out to be the best Dauntless I could be, never knowing that my path to leadership was already guaranteed. I had been a leader for almost a year before I ever found out that Jeanine planned my entire future out here. I was livid when I found out, because I didn't want any of that. I worked my ass off to become a leader, and I fucking loved my job. Finding out that Jeanine thought of me as nothing more than a puppet almost destroyed me, until she and Max put this spin on it to make me feel like I was special for being hand selected for leadership." Eric finishes. He finally looks over at the two sitting on the couch and sees opposite reactions. Tori has tears in her eyes and staining her cheeks while Four looks angry.

"What about Amar?" Four finally spits out.

"You honestly think I would hurt him? I cared about him too! He was the first person here who ever gave me a chance!" Eric shouts.

"He was divergent, and you knew it!" Four shouts back.

"Yeah, I did know it, but not for the reasons you think! He _told_ me he was. He confided it to me in an effort to get me to open up to him. Amar cared about me, even though you don't want to believe that. He told me I reminded him of the only person he'd ever loved, a man named George who he believed had been murdered by some of Jeanine's people." Eric replies.

Tori immediately sits up and trains her dark brown eyes on Eric. "George was my brother." She says quietly and Eric nods.

"I know. Amar told me a lot about him. It was obvious he missed him tremendously." Eric replies in a voice that's softer than any of them had ever heard from the young leader.

"Tori you're actually buying this? Unbelievable!" Four exclaims. "He gets a free pass just because he had a shitty childhood? My childhood wasn't all sunshine and roses, but you don't see me willingly joining plans for a genocide because I didn't get enough love growing up."

"How could you be so cruel? _You_ , of all people, should understand what he went through more than anyone. How dare you judge him just because he was manipulated by the first person who showed him any type of positive attention? You can't be pissed at him because he had someone in his faction who actually picked up on the hell he was going through and you didn't." Tris says loudly, and you can see she's obviously shocked by her own words.

"You don't know a goddamn thing about my life Tris!" Four shouts, standing up and hovering over where Tris sits beside Eric.

The sudden outburst causes Eric to leap from his seat and lunge towards Four, and he lands a hard punch directly at the jaw of the instructor. Four is momentarily stunned but quickly begins fighting back. The two young men are excellent fighters and it shows as they deftly defend themselves while occasionally making direct contact with the other.

Tris and Tori immediately jump up to separate the two men. As soon as Eric sees Tris he stops swinging and allows her to pull him away from Four, who is now standing behind Tori in her efforts to restrain him.

"You both should leave now. You need to leave. Go." Tris says to Four and Tori. Tori nods, places her hands on Four and physically drags him to the door. Four glares at Eric before walking out, slamming the door behind him.


	11. Chapter 11

**AN: This chapter contains M rated content, this is just a warning if this isn't something you want to read. The rating of this story will change to M as well, so it will not be searchable in the K through T ratings like it has been before.**

After Four and Tori leave, Eric moves to lock the door behind them. He runs his hands through his hair, and rests his forehead against his door. Tris walks up behind him and wraps her arms around his waist. He soon moves his hands to cover hers. Tris places a kiss between his shoulder blades.

"Eric?" Tris says softly.

"Hmm?" He hums in response.

"What can I do?" She asks.

"You really do love me, right? You're not just saying that to get me to go along with your plans right?" He asks quietly.

The mask has fallen, and Eric is finally showing he is capable of feeling vulnerable. Tris' thoughts are scrambled, but she knows without hesitation that she loves the young man who is currently struggling with his own self doubt in front of her. She needs to make sure that no matter what happens from this moment forward that Eric knows exactly how much he means to her.

"Eric, turn around please." Tris says as she steps away from him.

He reluctantly faces her, meeting her eyes. Tris cups her hands around his cheeks and brings his face down to hers, giving him a soft kiss. She then takes both of his hands in hers.

"Eric, when I transferred to Dauntless I planned on getting to know you better. I wanted to know what could cause you to join someone as evil as Jeanine. I never planned on falling for you, but I have. I'm not the type of person who would willingly deceive another person, and I would never mislead you for any reason. I do love you, I love everything about you." Tris replies softly.

"Good, because I really do love you and it would destroy me if you were just using me." He replies. Eric leads Tris to the couch and they both sit down, holding on to each other.

"I'm so sorry about Four. If I had known he would be so hateful towards you I wouldn't have brought him here." She says quietly.

"We need him." Eric replies in a voice void of emotion.

"Not at the expense of hurting you." Tris reasons.

"Even then. I can deal with him, I've dealt with people like him my whole life Tris." Eric replies quietly.

"You shouldn't have to deal with anyone mistreating you. Eric, you're an amazing man. I need you to focus on that and not on what people like Four say to you or about you." Tris replies.

"Not everyone sees me like you do Tris. You are an anomaly. You saw straight through me, you refused to back down even when I was an ass to you and you forced me to let you in when I tried everything in my power to shut you out. You accomplished in days what no one here could accomplish in years. You never once gave up."

"Eric, I'll never give up on you." Tris replies.

"Promise me Tris." He says quietly.

Tris looks up at her boyfriend and she can see the troubled emotions he's struggling with. "Hey, what's going through your head?" She asks.

"These next few weeks are going to be hard. You still have your fear sims, but next week they're going to spring one last round of fighting on both classes. You'll be thrown in with the Dauntless borns, and the fights can get brutal. Between the physical pain from those and the mental anguish from the sims it's designed to weed out any potential weaknesses and now you have the added pressure of this war on you too." Eric explains.

"You don't think I can handle it?" Tris asks.

"I know you can handle it, I just hate that you have to. There's a part of me that wishes you could just be a normal initiate focused on getting into Dauntless without the worry of hiding a relationship with a leader, hiding your divergence, planning on stopping a war and trying to keep yourself and the people you care about alive." He replies.

"It's all worth it to me. I have you, Eric. I would do anything to have you with me." Tris replies.

Eric moves Tris' hair off of her shoulder and he begins placing gentle kisses there, moving from her neck to her ears.

"I love you." His deep voice is soft when he whispers to Tris.

She leans away slightly so she can look into his grey eyes. "I love you too." She whispers back. Eric leans in and captures her lips with his, and Tris moves so she's straddling his lap.

Tris runs her fingers through Eric's long hair, placing kisses along his jawline and neck. Eric moves his hands to the back of Tris' head, pulling her closer to him and kissing her. He licks her lips for entrance, which she eagerly grants and he slips his tongue to hers. They deepen their kisses, and Eric can feel his desire quickly building. Tris can feel him harden below her, and she unconsciously grinds on him.

"Oh." She breathes, realizing she likes the way it feels to rub against him, she repeats the motion and moans slightly.

"Tris..." Eric groans.

"It feels good." She whispers before kissing him hungrily. Eric moves his hands to her lower back, then slides them further down to cup her bottom, pulling her firmly against him.

"You feel so good against me Tris." He moans in between kisses. Tris moves her hands to the hem of his tshirt and begins pulling it up. Eric backs away and pulls the shirt off completely, tossing it on the floor. He looks at Tris as he slips his hands under her shirt, and she moans slightly at the feel of his warm hands on her.

"Can I?" He murmurs and she nods as she lifts her arms. He pulls her shirt over her head and drops it on the floor with his. He place kisses over her exposed skin, watching as goosebumps appear on her flesh. His hands skim over the thin fabric of her bra, and he can see her nipples straining against the fabric. He skims over them with his thumbs and Tris moans in his mouth as they're kissing. She reaches behind her and unclasps her bra as she watches her boyfriend's eyes widen.

"You can take it off." She whispers, blushing slightly. Eric reaches for the straps and slides them slowly down her arms. Once the undergarment has been dropped to the floor, he takes some time to just look at her. He's seen his girlfriend completely naked before, but it was under horrible circumstances after Edward's stabbing, and while he and Tris have tentatively explored each other during previous make out sessions this is the first time Tris has exposed herself to Eric.

"You're so beautiful." He whispers. He kisses the swell of her breasts, and he experimentally runs his tongue around one of her hardened nipples, which causes Tris to moan loudly and grind against him. He moves to her other breast, repeating his motions before returning to her mouth for another deep kiss. Tris continues to grind her core against his erection, and he's suddenly very aware of how tight and uncomfortable his pants have become. He's extremely nervous, as much as he wants to lose his virginity to the girl he is completely in love with, he respects her far to much to ever push her.

"God Tris, you're making me crazy. You might have to stop, I don't know if I can take it." Eric says breathily, throwing his head back as she pushes herself harder against him. He tries to think of anything other than the way his girlfriend feels against him, but the battle with his thoughts is hopeless.

"I don't want to stop. I like the way it feels." She breathes out.

"Me too. God I want you so much." He replies. He immediately panics, he didn't mean to say that out loud and he doesn't want to scare Tris. "I shouldn't have said that." He says quietly.

"You actually want me? Like that?" She asks and he nods. "Do you want to try?" She asks.

"I really do, I'm ready, but I can wait baby. I will never push you. This is new to both of us. You're not mad at me, are you?" He asks.

"Eric, no. I would never be mad at you for being honest with me. I'm ready too. We just have to go slow." She replies. She stands up and Eric does too, he takes her hand in his and they walk to his bedroom.

"I had the shot, the one they gave all of the female initiates the first day we were here." Tris says.

"Oh, good, ok. Well I've never done anything with anyone, so I'm safe. You know that." Eric replies nervously. He and Tris finish undressing, kissing and touching each other as they go. Once they are completely undressed, they climb into bed.

Eric leans in and kisses Tris deeply, slowly moving his hands over her breasts. She shivers at his touch and he pulls his hands away.

"No, I liked that." She says quietly and he puts his hands on her again. He moves his hands slowly across her breasts, cupping them and placing gentle open mouthed kisses on them. He kisses his way up her chest and neck before capturing her lips with his. Tris shifts slightly, and looks him up and down, her eyes widening as she looks at his arousal.

"How is that going to fit?" She asks nervously.

"I won't hurt you. I promise we won't do anything that either of us are uncomfortable with. This is new to me too." He replies as he gently strokes her cheek.

"Can I touch you there?" Tris asks and Eric nods. She nervously reaches for his hardened member, wrapping her hand around it. Eric moans loudly at the feeling of her hand on him. "What do I do?" She whispers.

Eric wraps his hand around hers and moves their hands in an up and down motion. He lets her hand go and she continues the motion as they kiss each other deeply. She's startled when Eric grabs her wrist and stops her movements.

"If you keep that up it'll be over before we get started. It feels too good." He whispers as he kisses her softly. Tris moves both hands to his back.

"I'm sorry." She says nervously. Eric smiles at her before kissing her gently.

"You have nothing to be sorry about. No one makes me feel the way you do Tris." He replies.

"You are so perfect." Tris whispers before they kiss each other deeply. Eric moves so he's hovering over her, and she parts her legs so he can lay between them. They continue to kiss while exploring each other's bodies with their hands.

"I'm not exactly sure how this all works." Tris says shyly.

"Neither am I. Just tell me if you don't like something, or if I hurt you. Please." Eric replies. Tris nods and places her hand on his cheek.

"I'm ready." She says.

"Are you sure?" He asks as he runs his hand over her hair and kisses her.

"Yes, just please go slow." She replies.

"I will, I promise." He says as he kisses her again. He grasps his hardened length in his hand and lines himself up with her. He can feel how wet she is and he moans as his sensitive head makes contact with her warm core.

He slowly pushes inside, only sheathing his tip as he watches her face for a reaction.

"Keep going." She whispers and he kisses her as he pushes a little farther in. He stops when he hears her whimper.

"Tris, do you want me to stop?" Eric asks.

"No, don't stop, please keep going. Eric, just go all the way in ok? It'll hurt but I want to get that part over with." She sees the conflicted look on his face.

"I love you Tris." He whispers.

"I love you too." She whispers back as she leans up to kiss him.

He pushes in fully and he can feel her innocence break. She cries out against his lips.

Eric is overwhelmed by the pure pleasure he feels being sheathed completely inside of her warmth, but he stills himself, kissing the tears that slip out of the corners of her eyes.

"I'm so sorry." He whispers and she opens her eyes.

"It's ok, I know you didn't want to hurt me." She moves her hips slightly and he moans loudly. "It doesn't hurt now that you're inside."

"Oh my god Tris..." he kisses her fully as she moves her hips again. He takes this as his sign to move and he starts moving in and out of her at a slow pace.

"Are you ok?" He asks and she nods.

"It feels good." She replies.

Eric begins moving more, pulling almost all the way out and slipping inside her much easier.

"Baby is it ok, do you like it?" Eric asks as he stills. Tris smiles both at the sweet term of endearment and at the concerned look on his face.

"It feels really good. Can you try going faster?" She asks. Eric nods and kisses her deeply as he thrusts faster, eliciting moans of pleasure from Tris.

"Tris... this feels so good... I'm not going to last... I want to make you feel good too..." he whispers as he feels his release rapidly approaching. He thrusts in a few more times and he releases deep inside of her as her name slips off of his lips. He rests his forehead against hers as he tries to catch his breath.

"Did you?" He breathes out.

"Did I what?" She asks

"Have an orgasm." Eric replies.

"I don't think so." She whispers.

"I'm so sorry. I wanted you to feel good too." He replies.

"Baby, it really felt good. It's ok." Tris replies as she strokes his long hair, tucking it behind his ears.

"Can I try something?" He asks and she nods. He slowly pulls out of her and moves so he's laying on his side next to her. She tries to turn to face him, but he shakes his head. He moves his hand down to her warm center, and slowly starts rubbing around her bud with his fingers.

"Oh.." Tris moans as she bucks her hips involuntarily. Eric leans in to kiss her as he keeps rubbing her swollen bundle. "Oh Eric.. that feels.. oh..." she puts her arms over her face in an attempt to hide.

"Hey, don't hide. You're so beautiful. Tris you're perfect." He whispers as she lowers her arms and accepts his kiss. "Do you like this?"

"Yes." She whispers. "Oh god..." Tris clamps her thighs around his hand as she calls out his name. He moves his hand when she tries to squirm away from him.

"Was that ok?" He asks. "Did you...?"

"That felt amazing. Yes." She replies. He leans in and kisses her again before he pulls her closer and wraps himself around her.

"I'm sorry that I wasn't better." Eric says quietly.

"Eric, that was perfect. You did everything you could to make me feel good. You took care of me." She replies. "You didn't like it?" She asks.

"God, no, I loved it. It felt so good. Are you ok though?" He asks.

"I'm a little sore, but it was well worth it." She replies as she snuggles against him, burying her face near his neck.

"I'm so happy that I waited for you." Eric says as he traces patterns on her back.

"Me too. I'm glad we had our first time with each other." She replies. He feels her twirling his hair around her fingers.

"You're my first everything. Friend, kiss, sex, love." Eric says. "I've never been in love before, but this has to be what it feels like. I love you Tris."

"I love you too Eric." She replies. He leans down and kisses her gently, running his hands through her long hair.

"I don't know what I would have done if you hadn't of come to Dauntless." Eric says quietly.

"There was never any other option for me. I meant it when I said I would have come here no matter what my aptitude test told me. I always wanted to be here." She replies.

"If you hadn't of seen what you did during your aptitude test, you would have never even talked to me outside of training. I would have just continued on being alone, and doing whatever the fuck Jeanine and Max told me to do."

"Eric, you don't know that." She replies as she draws circles on his chest.

"I do. I'm an asshole to the initiates, and the only reason you and I even started becoming friends is because you forced me to talk to you. Before you came here I had no one. Shit, in Erudite I had no one. Jeanine knew how fucked up my home life was and she kind of took me under her wing. I thought for awhile that she cared about me, like a mother cares for their kid. " He replies. "She didn't though, she just wanted someone who wouldn't question her motives when she started her divergent hunt and war plans."

"I don't want you to think about that anymore ok? I'm here, with you, and it doesn't matter how we got here. We're going to make it through this Eric." Tris replies.

"We are. I'm going to protect you Tris. I'm not going to let anything happen to you. I was serious when I said you could live here with me." Eric says.

"I want to, but we need to be careful. We can't bring any more attention to ourselves for a lot of reasons right now. We don't need Max suspecting you of anything, we also don't need to give Peter any more ammunition to use against me." She replies.

"I understand. I just need you to be safe. Stick close to your transfer friends. Uriah too, as much as it bothers me the way he acts with you, I know he'll protect you."

"You're jealous." She chuckles.

"Wouldn't you be? I've got both Four and Uriah and god knows who else waiting in the wings for me to fuck up." He sighs.

"They're going to be waiting a long time. You're all I want." Tris says through a yawn.

"Let's take a nap baby." Eric murmurs as he presses a kiss to her forehead. Tris lays her head on his chest, and soon she is lulled to sleep by the sound of his heartbeat. Eric continues to play with her soft hair, truly happy for the first time in his entire eighteen years.

When Tris wakes up she's wrapped in Eric's arms, and she feels safe with his warm body pressed skin to skin against hers. She traces her fingers across his strong back and snuggles impossibly closer to his chest. They're laying on their sides, bodies pressed together and Tris has her head tucked carefully below his chin. She's never been as content as she is right this second and the feelings she has for Eric are unlike anything she's ever experienced. She feels him stirring next to her and she presses a soft kiss to the underside of his jaw.

Eric wakes up, blinking slowly. He's wrapped comfortably around his girlfriend and he can't stop smiling as he thinks of what happened earlier. He's heard stories about how awkward the first time can be, and while he knows it wasn't perfect he wouldn't have had it happen any other way.

Eric knows this relationship is new, and he and Tris are both young, but he can already see them together for a long time. He wants the stress from the upcoming war to be off of them as soon as possible, and he hopes that once initiation is over in a few weeks that Tris will want to take their relationship public and possibly move in with him instead of into her own apartment.

"That's an awfully serious face after an awesome nap." Tris says in a voice thick with sleep. She presses a kiss to his jaw before snuggling into the crook of his neck. "What are you thinking so hard about?" She asks. Eric can feel her breath on his neck, and her lips brush his skin with each word she speaks.

"Us." He answers simply. "I didn't mean to wake you up." He presses a kiss to her forehead and runs his fingers up and down her spine.

"What about us?" Tris asks.

"I'll just be glad when everything is done. Your initiation. This mess with Jeanine and Max. I want us to be together, and happy." He replies.

"We are together, and I'm happy." She replies softly.

"I am too. I mean we can stop hiding how we feel, and we won't have the stress of this war on us." He explains. "I don't want to hide what we have anymore. It's damn near impossible for me to do it as it is right now. I want everyone to know I'm yours and you're mine. I want to wake up to you every morning just like this."

"You really have been thinking about us, haven't you?" She asks with a smile he can feel against his neck.

"I have. I know we're young, but I also know I want you with me for as long as I can have you." He says hesitantly.

"Me too." She agrees and he relaxes.

"How are you feeling?" He asks.

"I'm sore, I'm pretty sure I'll need a day or so to stop being so sore. I really liked it though." She replies shyly.

"Me too." He says as he presses another kiss to her forehead. "I just wish you weren't so sore. Not because I'm trying to do it again, well at least not right this second." He chuckles. "I mean, I'm a teenaged boy so I'm pretty sure now that I've had that experience with you I'm never going to stop wanting you that way. I just feel so bad that I caused you pain." He explains nervously.

"Eric, it's ok. We knew it was gonna hurt the first time. I have no regrets." Tris replies. "I may want to soak in your tub though, I think it could help. I know we've showered together already, so would you possibly want to take a bath with me or is that too girly?"

"Tris, I don't care how girly it makes me, I just want to spend time with you. If that means I take a bath and smell like a girl then so be it." He can feel her smile against his neck.

"I kind of love being here with you." Tris says when Eric holds her tightly against him.

"I definitely love it. There's no way I'm going to be able to sleep without you next to me anymore."

"Maybe we can compromise, I can sneak up here every night after everyone is asleep and you can help sneak me back to the dorm each morning before they wake up?" She asks.

"Yeah, that would definitely work, and we wouldn't have to do that every night. You've already spent some nights away from the dorm, so they know you're staying _somewhere_ already. We just need to continue to be discrete." Eric replies. "I want you here with me every night Tris. Is that too much?"

"No. I want to be here with you." She replies.

They are interrupted by a knock on his door. Tris picks her head up and looks at Eric, and he shakes his head.

"I have no idea who this is. Can you wait in here?" He asks.

"Of course." She replies. He leans over and kisses her lips before getting out of bed. He grabs his boxers and pants off the floor and Tris watches him get dressed, taking in the way his muscles move under his pale skin. He smiles at her one more time, crawling over to her for another kiss before groaning when the knocking commences again.

Eric closes his bedroom door behind him and walks to his front door. He glances out the peephole and sees Tori standing at the door. He opens the door and invites her in.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to intrude, I just thought I'd bring Tris some of her stuff. I was able to get in and out of the dorm without being noticed." She hands a duffel bag to Eric.

"Wow, thanks Tori, that was really decent of you. Did you want me to get Tris?" He asks.

"There's no need to wake her. I'd actually like to talk to you if you have the time." She replies. He gestures for her to have a seat.

"Let me put a shirt on at least. Tris is awake, but if this conversation needs to be between just us I won't bring her out." He replies.

"I can deal with you being shirtless, I did give you that tattoo." She gestures towards his ribs. "I'll make this quick. I just want to be sure you're intentions are pure when it comes to Tris. I care about her, she's not just another divergent Eric, she's like a daughter to me. I don't want to see her get hurt. I don't want to judge you, or lump you in with the assholes who killed my brother, but in the two years you've been here you've not given anyone outside of leadership any reason to like you." The older woman says. "You made it clear last night that we were to speak with you directly about any concerns we had with you and Tris being together so that's what I'm doing."

"I appreciate you coming to me. Look Tori, I know I've not given you or anyone else a reason to like me. I wish I could give you an explanation, or offer some sort of apology but it wouldn't be sincere. I don't get close to people, nor do I let people get close to me. She's an exception, and had she not practically forced me to become friends with her I'd probably still be too much of a chicken shit to talk to her." Eric replies.

"I worry that she's the only reason you're willing to go against Jeanine." Tori says.

"She's the reason I have the strength to go against them. I've just been following orders Tori. Well, at least pretending to follow them. Max is my leader, and he gives me the orders. Part of my training was learning that sometimes being a Dauntless soldier means you have to carry out orders that you don't necessarily agree with. That's what I've been doing." Eric explains.

"Why are you suddenly so willing to go against those orders?" She asks.

"Because I have a reason to want to live. I can see something other than _just_ being a leader and soldier in my future. I have someone who trusts me and who I trust for the first time in my life, that's Tris. I had nothing before her. You and I may not trust each other yet, but for the first time since I've been here we are willing to try. That means a lot."

"What about the issue that Jeanine is holding over your head?" Tori asks.

Eric looks down at the ground and says nothing. Tori studies the younger man, knowing she needs to be careful with her next words.

"Did you know I transferred from Erudite Eric?" She asks.

"No, I had no idea." Eric answers honestly.

"I did, sixteen years ago. My brother George did too, two years before me. Eric, I knew your mother, and I remember you as a baby." She watches the younger man immediately stiffen at the mention of his mother. "We don't have to talk about her right now. Just know that if you ever want to, we can." She offers.

"Were you friends with her?" He asks.

"I tried to be, for your sake, but once she went back to the drugs any chance of a friendship between us was gone." Tori replies.

Eric studies the woman in front of him. "What do you mean when you say you were trying to be her friend for my sake?" He asks.

Tori's eyes widen a bit, and Eric can tell she's taken aback by what she said previously. "Well, you were just a baby, and it was obvious your mother was losing a battle against her inner demons. You didn't deserve to be a casualty of her wars." Tori replies carefully.

"Do you know who my father is?" He asks point blank.

Tori takes a deep breath in, unsure of how much to share with the young leader. "I know who your mother claimed it was, yes."

"Jeanine says she knows who he is for sure and that he wants to meet me." Eric says.

"If your father is who your mother claims it'd be impossible for Jeanine to have spoken with him recently." Tori explains vaguely.

"Why, is he in another faction?" Eric asks.

"He was, yes."

"Tori, what the hell? Just tell me what you know please." Eric asks exasperatedly. "Everyone is so vague when it comes to him. I'm eighteen years old. Tori I pretty much raised myself _and_ my mother. I need to know where I came from. If there is someone out there who may want to get to know me I want that chance. Please."

"Eric, I don't know for sure who it is, which is why I've not said anything before now. But, if we're trying to trust each other I think you should at least know it's a possibility ok?" Tori says and Eric nods. Tori takes a deep breath and exhales slowly before continuing. "Your mother claimed that my brother George was your father."


	12. Chapter 12

Eric stands up abruptly, his eyes wide and posture rigid. "I need Tris. Please don't leave. I need her." He says hurriedly as he darts down the hallway.

Tori leans her head back on his couch, worried that she's said too much. George was a great man, kind and gentle, but like anyone he was prone to making poor decisions. He got involved with Shannon Coulter during one of her many tries at being sober, and when he'd heard that she was pregnant it was after he'd already made his move to Dauntless. He spent Eric's early life trying to get to know the boy, but Shannon soon forced him to leave her alone once she got back into her lifestyle of hard drugs and promiscuity, and she would deny that Eric was George's son. She watches as Eric returns to the room, clutching Tris' hand as the two sit on the loveseat together. Eric still looks panicked and uncomfortable, and Tori watches as Tris gently rubs their entwined hands, picking them up and pressing kisses to Eric's hand.

"Do you know if she was telling the truth? My mother was not well acquainted with the truth the entire sixteen years I lived with her." Eric says coldly.

"Shannon refused to get a DNA test. After you were born George tried to spend time with you. He'd already transferred to Dauntless, so he'd sneak back to Erudite to visit you. She stopped letting him visit when you were almost three. She and my brother didn't agree on her lifestyle choices and her response was to tell him you weren't his and for her to avoid him after that. He fought for you, all the way up until his death."

"Why didn't you ever tell me, Tori? I've been here over two years. I've had no one! This whole time you've known you might just be my aunt, my _only_ family and you chose to say nothing! How?" Eric seethes. Tris wraps her arms around him and begins playing with his long hair. Tori notices it relaxes him marginally, but she can still see the anger in his eyes.

"I didn't trust you or like you much at all Eric. You came here from Erudite acting like the world owed you something, being hateful to everyone, joining Jeanine fucking Matthews cause, the same cause that got my brother murdered. I wanted _nothing_ to do with you. Your mother might as well have pulled the trigger herself, because as soon as George had a court order from Candor to have a DNA test done suddenly my brother's divergence was discovered and he was dead!" Tori yells. "He spent over ten years fighting for you and it cost him his life."

"Did Amar know?" Eric asks quietly.

"Yes, there were no secrets between my brother and him." Tori replies quietly. "I begged him to let me be the one who told you."

"Why didn't you tell him then?" Tris asks angrily. She had planned on just offering her quiet support, but she refuses to let anyone else hurt Eric.

"Because as soon as Amar confided in Eric that he was divergent he was dead too. Can't you see the pattern here Tris?" Tori shouts.

Tris can feel Eric slump in defeat against her. Her heart is absolutely breaking for her boyfriend. "You blame him for their deaths?" Tris asks incredulously.

"I did. Before you lecture me, let me say this, I know it was wrong to blame him, and I'm trying my best here. George was my _everything._ He was the only family I had after I left Erudite. I followed him here, and I would have no matter what my aptitude had of been. When he died I did too. Amar and I just had each other after George was gone, and the minute that he became close with Eric suddenly he's gone too." Tori explains.

"I had _nothing_ to do with their deaths. _Nothing!"_ Eric seethes. "I never knew George personally, but I knew of him through Amar. I cared for Amar, he was like the father I never had and I believe he cared for me too. He was the _only_ person to so much as even acknowledge me after I transferred. He told me so many times I reminded him of George and he told me stories about George all the time. He at least tried to let me know my father and you decided to be selfish and keep everything you knew to yourself!"

Tris can feel Eric trembling next to her and she removes her hand from his and wraps both arms around him. He lowers his head to hers and rests his chin on the top of her head as he takes several deep breaths to calm himself. He can smell the sweet vanilla scented shampoo she uses and its familiarity calms him.

"Tori, would you be willing to go through a DNA test to see if you and Eric are related?" Tris asks.

"Yes. He deserves to know." Tori replies.

"You _both_ do." Tris answers angrily. "You may not like his mother for the atrocities she caused your family, but that is _not his fault._ He was a child Tori, he had no one when he left Erudite and the only person who acted like they gave a damn about him was Jeanine. I realize I didn't know Eric back then, but I don't care how much of a raging asshole he was he deserved to know the truth well before now. Whatever needs to happen to run this DNA test needs to happen as soon as possible. You both need answers, and if it turns out your brother is his father you not only are his family, you're also the only one who can tell him about his dad. He deserves that."

Eric pulls Tris as close to his body as possible. The short time that he's known Tris is the only time he's truly ever felt loved, and never as much as he does in this moment as she defends him to Tori.

"You're absolutely right. We can go to the infirmary now if you want. Shauna works there, and I'm sure she'd be willing to keep this as quiet as you'd like Eric." Tori replies as she watches the younger man nod his head.

Tori knows it's a good possibility that this angry young man is her nephew. His mother was fair skinned, with the lighter shaded eyes she shares with her son, and naturally light blonde hair. Eric has her pale skin tone as well, but his dark and shiny hair and the slight almond shape of his eyes are all George. Tori realizes how unfair she's been to Eric, and she vows to begin making it up to him if he's ready.

"I'm going to call Shauna to see when she works again." Tori says before excusing herself to the hallway.

Eric clutches on to Tris as he buries his face in her neck and breathes in her smell. "She's known this since the minute I transferred and she's never said a damn word." Eric says quietly.

"I know, I'm so sorry." Tris says as she tries to soothe Eric.

"What if he's my dad, Tris?"

"Then you get to know your aunt, and through her you get to know your dad." Tris whispers as she runs her fingers through his silky dark hair.

The door opens and Tori steps in. "Shauna's not there now, but she's due there tonight. She said we could come in around 7."

"Will you come with me?" He asks Tris.

"Of course I will." She answers.

"We will meet you there." Eric says to Tori and she nods.

"Alright, I'll see you then." Tori replies. She stands up to walk towards the door and Tris stands up to follow her. Eric grabs her hand and gives her a questioning look.

"What's wrong?" Tris asks Eric.

"You're leaving?" He asks. The look on his face almost breaks her heart.

"Baby, I'll be right back. I just want to talk to Tori for a minute." She leans over and kisses his lips gently. "I love you."

"I love you too." He replies as he lets her hand go.

Tris follows Tori out the door and as soon as they're in the hallway she steps in front of her.

"How could you do that to him?" She asks the older woman.

"Tris, stop. You know nothing about this." Tori says.

Tris pulls Tori into a small alcove away from the cameras.

"I know plenty about this. He's been lost for eighteen years. He never knew who his father was, his mother was absolutely awful to him and the only person who even pretended to give a damn about him was using him as a pawn in her war. You _judged_ him Tori. You warned me about him. You treated him like everyone else in his life has, and for what? Because his mother was a piece of shit?"

"No Tris! Because your precious boyfriend had a choice and he chose to follow Jeanine! The same woman who murdered my brother and Amar!" Tori says angrily.

"He had no one else. You know his mother. You know what she put your brother through, this man who is likely Eric's father. Eric had no one Tori. I'm so sorry about George, because it's obvious how much you loved him, and I'm sure he was a great man. Tori, Eric may be the only piece of George you have left and you completely shut him out." Tris says calmly. She watches as Tori leans against the wall and looks up. "No ones ever given him a chance. He's compassionate, he doesn't even realize he is but he really is. He's kind, and gentle with me. He's so smart, and he's passionate about Dauntless. He doesn't want a war Tori, and he doesn't want anything to do with Jeanine's plans, all he wants is to help us be the absolute best soldiers. He makes it very hard to get to know him, but if you put forth the effort he's so worth it. He's the best person I know."

Tori's hard exterior is in place, but the look in her eyes has softened. "He's lucky to have you." Tori says softly.

"I'm the lucky one." Tris answers.

"Tris, I'll do whatever I can to give him a chance. No matter what this test shows, ok?" Tori says quietly.

"Thank you." Tris replies as she grabs Tori's hand and squeezes it. "I'll see you tonight."

"See you." Tori replies as she heads off towards her own apartment.

Tris walks back inside of Eric's apartment and she hears water running. She heads to the bathroom and finds Eric checking the temperature of the bubble bath he's preparing. He stands in his boxers with his back towards Tris, and he hasn't noticed her in the room. She walks up to him and wraps her arms around him from behind.

"Eric..." She says before kissing his shoulder.

"You wanted a bath. I hope this is ok. I had to use some of your body wash for the bubbles." He replies.

"It's perfect. You get in first." She replies as she begins undressing. Eric kicks his boxers off and sinks into the tub. Tris cuts the water off and steps into the tub, sitting between Eric's legs with her back resting against his chest.

"This is good." Eric says while he wraps his arms around his girlfriend.

"You are so sweet." She replies.

"That adjective has never been used to describe me." He chuckles.

"There are so many more I could use. Kind. Handsome. Warm. Considerate. Hot." She replies.

"Hot?" He asks.

"God yes, so very hot. The hair, the piercings, the tattoos, your eyes, your smile, these arms, that chest...hot." She muses.

"You do wonders for my ego." He nuzzles his nose in her hair.

"I'm not trying to inflate your ego. You should hear how much you mean to me every day." Tris replies.

"I love you Tris."

"And I love you too, so very much." She replies as she lifts one of their entwined hands and kisses his.

"Thank you." He whispers.

"For what?" Tris twists so she can look at him.

"Loving me. Defending me. What you did back there...no ones ever done that for me. I've never felt loved before you. So thank you." He says hesitantly.

"You never have to thank me for loving you, and I will defend you until the day I die if necessary. I just need you to let these walls down and let others in. The people who truly care about you, ok?" She replies.

"That's a pretty exclusive club, Tris. You're the only one." Eric replies.

"Not anymore. Tori cares too. She said no matter what this test says, she still wants a chance to know you." Tris carefully replies.

"Tris, no one loves me except you. Not my mother, not Jeanine, not anyone. I'm flawed." Eric says quietly.

Tris turns completely so she is facing Eric. "This club might be exclusive as you call it, but that is a temporary situation. Once people get to know the parts of you that you keep hidden, they are going to adore you Eric."

Eric leans in and gently presses his lips to hers. Tris breaks their kiss and turns around, leaning her back against Eric's chest as the two of them enjoy the warm water and the comfortable silence.

"What if he's not dead?" Eric says in a soft voice.

"You think Jeanine could be telling the truth about speaking with him?" Tris asks.

"They never found his body, Amar's either. What if George is alive?" He asks again.

Tris takes a deep breath and carefully chooses her words before opening her mouth to speak. "Eric, anything is possible. I just don't want to see you get hurt. No one has heard from him in years."

"I know. Or maybe I don't know. I just don't know what to think of all of this." Eric replies.

"Eric, it's ok to be confused. You've had so much to deal with in your life, so no one would blame you for not having the answers right now. No matter what happens today, I'll be right by your side. You will never be alone again." Tris says resolutely. They spend more time soaking in the warm water and talking before finally deciding to get out and get dressed.

Tris and Eric get changed in relative silence before hearing Eric's stomach growling loudly.

"What time is it?" Tris asks and Eric grabs his phone.

"Shit. It's after 4:30 already. We missed breakfast and lunch." He replies. "Want to go grab dinner?"

"I really want to see my friends, would you be willing to eat down in the cafeteria?" She asks timidly.

"You want to be seen with me?" Eric asks.

"Is that ok?" Tris retorts. "I mean, if you think it'd be better that we don't appear to be friends it's fine."

"No, I want to go with you. Max thinks I'm working on an assignment, so seeing us together won't phase him, and the fuckers who attacked you won't dare do anything if they see me with you." He replies.

Tris and Eric leave his apartment, careful to leave enough space between them so that they appear to be nothing more than casual acquaintances. When they walk into the cafeteria, Tris immediately spots her friends sitting at a table, and Christina excitedly waves her over. Eric trails behind, unsure of how to proceed.

"Tris, what happened to you?" Christina exclaims, noticing the bruising on Tris' neck and jaw. Her outburst gets Uriah's attention from the table behind them and the young man turns around to face the small group of transfers.

"Tris, who did that to you?" He asks angrily, darting looks at the leader who is standing much closer to Tris than he'd prefer.

Tris turns and gestures to Eric to join her. They sit across from Christina and Will, and Uriah moves next to Will.

"I was attacked." She says quietly, glancing around to see who else is in the cafeteria with them. Zeke and Four move from the table that Uriah left them, Zeke plopping down next to his brother while Four sits on the other side of Tris much to Eric's chagrin.

"What happened?" Christina asks angrily.

"Tris who would do this to you?" Will adds.

"Peter, Drew and Al." Tris quietly responds.

"Oh my god. Al?" Christina chokes.

"Yes. I found the three of them holding her over the chasm, trying to rip her clothes off of her." Four spits.

"Why the hell aren't you doing something about it Eric?" Zeke asks angrily.

"Yeah. What's your deal?" Uriah adds.

"I asked them not to report it." Tris hisses. "You all saw what happened with Edward. They won't do a damn thing other than scold him. Then who do you think he's going to come after even harder?"

"They can't get away with this." Uriah growls.

"They won't. We may have to take justice into our own hands a bit." Will replies.

Uriah looks at Eric, silently wondering why the reclusive leader is even sitting there.

"I see and hear nothing." Eric says simply, causing a huge smile to break out over Uriah's face.

"I knew it. You _can_ be cool." Uriah grins at Eric.

"Don't get used to it." Eric replies gruffly. "I'm grabbing food, do you want something?" He asks Tris while carefully schooling his features.

"Sure, if you don't mind. Thanks." She replies. Eric nods before walking away, and Four and Zeke follow him.

"What's with you and Eric, Trissy?" Uriah asks quietly.

"He heard about what happened last night and he's not happy about it. He's just looking out for his initiates." Tris replies.

"He doesn't talk to anyone, and this isn't the first time I've seen you two together. What gives?" Uriah presses.

"Jesus Uri, the girl gets physically attacked last night and then has to go through an interrogation by her friends the next day? Maybe Eric's just trying to make sure his number one initiate doesn't end up at the bottom of the chasm." Christina says much to Tris' relief.

Uriah glances at Tris with a strange expression. "Hey Tris, can I talk to you, alone?" He asks. Christina gapes at Tris, thinking Uriah is going to finally confess to his crush on Tris once he gets her alone.

"Um, sure." Tris replies. "If they come back with my food just let them know I'll be right back." She says to Christina before walking away with Uriah. He leads her to a small alcove outside of the cafeteria.

"Why are we here?" Tris asks.

"No cameras." He replies pointing around them. "Is he forcing you to cooperate with him?" Uriah asks quietly.

"What? Who?" Tris asks.

"Eric." He hisses.

"What the hell Uri?" Tris asks.

"You've heard the rumors about him, right?" He asks and Tris nods. "They're true. He's an Erudite plant, he's here to hunt divergents Tris. You need to stay away from him." He whispers.

"He's not what you think Uriah." Tris begins and Uriah cuts her off.

"He's exactly what I think. Zeke has seen him meeting with Jeanine and Max many times on the control room cameras. Jeanine has brought him something to weed out the divergents..."

Tris cuts him off. "Yeah, a scanner. I know." She replies and Uriah's jaw drops open in shock. "He's not on her side." She whispers.

"Tris, I'm pretty sure you're divergent too. Your sim times are making it quite obvious, mine are too which is why Four is helping me. You need to let him help you too. Eric is definitely on Jeanine's side. He's been assigned to watch you specifically." Uriah warns.

"I know I'm his assignment." Tris replies.

"How'd you know?" Uriah asks.

"He told me." She replies.

"What? Dude. What kind of mind fuckery is he pulling on you?" Uriah asks.

"He's with us. Tori and Four too. We were going to meet again on Friday night at Eric's apartment, but since your curiosity has peaked we should probably meet tonight. Can you bring Zeke, Chris and Will with you?" Tris asks.

"Wait, how do you know he's with us?" Uriah asks.

"I trust him." True replies simply.

"What has he done to you? He's not a good person." Uriah presses.

"Uri, that's enough!" Tris hisses.

"Fine. Lucky for you I trust _you_!" He huffs.

"You know where his apartment is, right?" She implores.

"Yeah." Uriah responds.

"Good. Meet us there after curfew. Everything will be explained then. Come on, we need to get back inside." Tris says and Uriah reluctantly follows her back into the cafeteria.

They walk towards the table with their friends and Tris immediately picks up on Eric's uncomfortable body language so she hurries to get back to the table. She's stopped by a hand on her arm.

"Tris, I just wanted to say I'm sorry. I don't know what got in to me." Al says in a tear choked voice.

"Get your hands off of me!" Tris shouts, gathering attention from many in earshot, including Will, Uriah, Eric and Four, making all of the men stand at the table. Tris gestures for them to stay put. "Stay away from me." She growls at Al.

"Please, I just want to apologize. Please forgive me." He pleads.

"You were supposed to be my friend Al, but you are nothing more than a coward. I will _never_ forgive you." Tris replies before walking away from the larger boy, taking her seat next to Eric.

"Are you ok?" He whispers to her.

"Later." She whispers back.

Tris notices Will's eyes widen and follows his gaze. She sees Drew and Peter, both sporting terrible bruises from an obvious fight.

"You did all of that?" Will asks Four.

"Tris got a couple of good hits in before I got to her." Four smirks.

"Don't let him fool you, that was all him." Tris replies. Christina's eyes widen in shock.

"Remind me to never piss our instructor off." She deadpans.

"That's a good idea, you might want to follow your own advice and keep that Candor mouth in check." Four replies and Christina blushes causing everyone to laugh except Eric, who is glaring daggers at Peter and Drew.

Tris leans over towards Four, speaking only so he can hear. "Uri knows. Meet us at Eric's after curfew. Uri will bring Zeke, Chris and Will. Pass the word."

Four nods once and returns to his meal. Tris feels a hand on her thigh and she glances at Eric. His grey eyes are dark and stormy, along with his grim expression and body language.

"We need to meet tonight. I'll explain once we're out of here. Eat." She whispers and he nods. She discretely lowers her hand and they thread their fingers together. She can feel her boyfriend begin to relax, and they both eat quietly.

"So first the zip line, and now an actual meal. Is this the beginning of a new Eric?" Zeke asks teasingly.

"Maybe." Eric replies.

"Well I'll take that as a yes. It's nice to see you out amongst us peasants." Zeke replies. Tris can tell he's still joking, but Eric tenses next to her. She squeezes his hand reassuringly.

"Careful." He growls to Zeke and the smile drops from the other man's face. Zeke begins eating his cake and there is an uncomfortable silence at the table.

"He's here with me. Please don't make a big deal out of it, ok? He can't show favoritism and if the other initiates find out he and I are friends they'll use it against me." Tris whispers.

"Kind of like trying to push you over the chasm?" Will whispers back, scowling at Eric.

"None of that is his fault." Christina chimes in and Tris smiles warmly at her best friend.

"Why are you all looking at me like that?" Eric asks.

"Are you two secretly in love or something?" Zeke whispers while batting his eyelashes.

"Yes." Eric replies, surprising everyone at the table and shocking Tris. "Tris and I are together, and it's serious. That doesn't leave this table, you understand?"

"Shit. Yeah, got it. I was just kidding around, I had no idea." Zeke replies, all humor erased and replaced by the pure shock everyone is feeling at Eric's admission.

"They're holding hands under the table, it's kind of obvious." Christina whispers. Tris quickly drops Eric's hand and moves both of her hands to the top of the table as Chris snickers. "No one can see it, I only know because I specifically looked. Relax. No one suspects a thing, look around."

Tris and Eric glance around and see Chris is right, there's no one paying the slightest bit of attention to their table. Eric threads his fingers with Tris' and brings their joined hands to his thigh, brushing his thumb over the back of her hand. Everyone continues their meal, and the usual raucous conversation and behavior soon is back in full force. Eric glances over at Tris and offers her a small grin, which she quickly returns. A sense of relief washes over him as he realizes that Tris isn't angry at him for blurting out their secret.

Tris spends as much time with her friends as possible, catching up on the latest developments in Chris and Will's relationship, hearing Zeke talk warmly about his plans to propose to his long time girlfriend Shauna and listening as both Four and Zeke chide Uriah for not making his move on his childhood crush and fellow initiate Marlene.

Eric feels a tap on his shoulder and turns to see Tori standing behind him. "Can I borrow you two for a little while?" She asks, gesturing between him and Tris. Eric nods. Tris says her goodbyes to her friends, noticing the strange look Four is giving her. She leans close to his ear and whispers something to him before following Eric and Tori out of the cafeteria.

"Shauna called, she has time now. Sorry for interrupting your time with friends." Tori offers. Eric says nothing, but Tris walks close to his side and they make their way down to the infirmary together. Shauna comes out and gestures for them to follow her and she takes them into a private room, Eric quickly grabs Tris' hand once they're away from everyone else.

"Shauna, this needs to be kept quiet. _All_ of this." Eric says as he watches the woman look inquisitively at Eric and Tris' joined hands.

"You have my word. I'm not sure what is more surprising, the fact that I'm doing a DNA test on you and Tori or the fact that you appear to have a girlfriend." Shauna replies with a warm smile. "You've started to be more approachable. Well, more real I suppose."

Everyone in the small exam room can tell that Shauna is carefully choosing her words, even so Tori cringes a bit and waits for the barking response she's come to expect from Eric any time he feels even the slightest bit threatened. Tori is susrprised when Eric's expression softens a bit before he begins to speak.

"Love changes your perspective on things." Eric replies quietly and Shauna's eyebrows shoot up in shock. "Shauna, I'm serious, all of this needs to be kept confidential. As for our relationship, there are some who know, namely your boyfriend and your circle of friends. For obvious reasons we want to keep this quiet until she's a full member."

Shauna swabs the inside of Tori's cheek and places the swab in a plastic container. "Eric, you know me better than that. Whatever this is with you and Tori is already bound by medical confidentiality, even if I were the type of person to gossip. Now, a leader dating an initiate is pretty taboo, and I'd certainly not want to see either of you in trouble. My lips are sealed. Open up." Shauna swabs Eric's cheek and places the swab in a separate plastic container. "Give me a few minutes and I'll be back with the results." She says before gathering her supplies and leaving the room.

An awkward silence fills the room, as Tori nervously fidgets while sneaking glances at the couple sitting in front of her. She's never liked Eric, no matter how hard she's tried. He's cold, cruel and has absolutely no personality. She'd convinced herself since the moment she saw him walk into her tattoo shop that this blatantly evil boy could have never been her kind brother's son. But last night, witnessing the way he interacted with Tris made her think that maybe she was wrong about him. Eric's still not someone she would ever consider a friend, but if he does happen to be her nephew he'd be the only thing left of her precious brother. She watches the young couple, and realizes it's obvious the two are in love by the way they treat each other. Eric is gentle and kind with Tris, something that Tori has never witnessed from the angry and off putting young leader. She watches as Tris gently runs her fingers through Eric's long hair, and she sees the comfortable way he leans into her touch. In the two years that she's known Eric she's never seen him let anyone get close to him, physically or emotionally, and here is a former Abnegation who has completely broken his walls. He's a handsome young man and arguably brilliant, but his mother's neglect has left him with many personality flaws with the most obvious being his blatant distrust of almost everyone he comes into contact with. Tori knew from the moment she met the young woman sitting across from her that she was something special, but nothing could have prepared her for the sight in front of her. Tris has helped Eric become someone else, and Tori has to admit that it's possible that she could like the young leader if she tries hard enough to see past his rough exterior.

Eric catches Tori staring. "What?" He asks gruffly.

"Young love." Tori answers calmly. "It suits you both and it's nice to see."

"You're finally willing to acknowledge that it's possible that I actually love someone?" Eric scoffs.

"Yes." Tori answers calmly. "I think it's quite obvious that the two of you are very much in love."

Tris squeezes her boyfriend's hand and his grip tightens on her even more. His nervousness is radiating off of him, and even though she's witnessed Eric being nervous throughout the more romantic encounters in their relationship she's never seen him quite as rattled as he is right now.

"Does this mean you approve?" Eric asks curiously.

"I think the two of you are good for each other. You balance each other out quite well." Tori replies.

"I think so too." Tris says sweetly as she presses herself close to Eric's side.

Shauna walks back into the room with papers in her hand. She sits down next to Tori, and takes a deep breath, unsure on how the results she's about to share will be received.


	13. Chapter 13

**AN: I've been evil with the cliffhangers, and to make up for it here is a second chapter for today. So, if you haven't read chapter 12 you should do so before reading this one. Thank you all again for the reviews and follows. You are my motivation to keep doing this :)**

Shauna takes a deep breath and decides to just begin speaking and hope for the best.

"Ok, I'm not certain what the two of you were looking for, so I just ran a full spectrum. You two share DNA structures, which is an indication that you two are related in some way." Shauna begins. Tori takes in a sharp breath and Tris can feel the tension radiating off of Eric as the grip he has on her hand tightens greatly.

Shauna continues, "Now, if you look here you'll see this number is extremely high, that's an indication that the family line is close. A concentration this high could indicate that you are siblings, but this number contradicts that. My best guess is that you are an aunt and nephew. At any rate, you two are without a doubt related to each other. Is that close to what you were looking for?"

Eric says nothing, he just clutches to Tris tightly. Tori takes a deep breath before speaking.

"Shauna, we were trying to establish if it were possible that my brother was Eric's father." Tori says and everyone can see the immediate realization on Shauna's face.

"With these results, I'd be comfortable to say with certainty that your brother was Eric's father. The DNA strongly proves that."

Eric quickly stands, leaving the room and dragging Tris with him. Tori and Shauna are left gaping at the news that was just shared. Tori stands up and makes a move towards the door of the exam room but Shauna grabs her arm to stop her.

"I wouldn't recommend that. He's going to need some time and space to take everything in. I assume that before today he had no idea that the two of you could be related?" Shauna asks tentatively.

"You assume correctly." Tori answers in a clipped voice.

"How long have you known?" Shauna asks without thinking. She quickly tries to backpedal. "I'm so sorry, that was rude, and this isn't my business." The young doctor in training begins to write something on the papers in front of her.

"His whole life." Tori answers quietly. Shauna looks up and sees something she'd never imagined seeing, the older woman appears broken. Tori has always been the toughest Dauntless she's ever known, perhaps outside of Four, Max and Eric, and to see her in such a vulnerable state is shocking. "I've known this his entire life and never said a word. I knew when he was a baby in Erudite, for the two years I was there with him before I transferred, the whole time he was stuck back there with his poor excuse for a mother, and the entire two years he's been here in Dauntless." Tori says robotically.

"You had your reasons for not saying anything I'm sure." Shauna offers. She's trying to find a way to comfort Tori, but she's shocked and somewhat appalled that the woman waited until Eric was eighteen years old before offering him any clue as to who his father was. Shauna may have been Dauntless born, but everyone had heard the rumors about Eric when he arrived in Dauntless after leaving Erudite. People had strong opinions of the boy, and the way Eric acted did nothing to quell the rumors and rampant distrust.

"I blamed him for my brother's death. I'm a monster." Tori says before she begins crying softly. The shock finally wears off and Shauna moves to comfort her friend.

Tris allows Eric to almost drag her to his apartment. She makes no effort to pull her hand from his, even after gathering many stares along the way. Once they reach the inside of his apartment Eric slides down the back of his door to the floor and breaks down. Tris pushes her shock to the side, and quickly she sits in Eric's lap and takes him into her arms, allowing him to bury his face to her neck while she feels his body shaking in sobs.

"I'm sorry." He blurts out while trying to gather himself.

"You have nothing to apologize for. Come here." Tris replies as she gently guides his head back down to her shoulder and holds him until his tears subside.

"I need to see Jeanine." Eric says suddenly.

"What? Why?" Tris asks with worry evident in her tone.

"I need to know if he's alive." He replies.

"Eric, you have to be careful. You're emotional right now, and storming into Erudite alone demanding answers isn't a good idea." Tris reasons.

"I'm going to see if Tori will come with me." He replies. "I'll convince Jeanine that she's joined her cause and wants to see her brother."

Tris is worried and she can't hide it. There's so many unknown factors, one being if George is actually alive, then if he is would he willingly be on Jeanine's side? Further, if he is on Jeanine's side would he convince Tori and Eric to join him?

"Eric." Tris says softly. "Can I ask you to do something for me?"

Eric looks at his girlfriend with concern. Tris never has asked him for anything, and the way she's looking at him makes him realize that whatever she's about to ask him is important.

"What?" He asks carefully.

"Will you please wait to talk to Jeanine? Just until you've had some time to absorb everything you've learned these past two days? A lot has happened and I think you just need some time to really think about things. Would you do that for me?" Tris asks.

"You think I can't handle everything?" He asks angrily.

"Baby, no, I know you can handle everything that's thrown at you. I just don't want you to have to when you have some time to actually think about everything before you act on it. Right now your emotions are in the forefront of your mind and you're not thinking straight..." Tris says but Eric interrupts her.

"No. You don't get to do this to me. This is my life Tris. You don't get to guilt me into doing what you want me to do. You don't get to treat me like everyone else has!" He roars.

Tris scoots away from her boyfriend, crawling backwards until she's no longer touching him. Eric can't seem to stop his rage, even though his mind is screaming at him to stop acting out.

"Eric..."

"Shut up! You stop now!" He screams at Tris. She's terrified, she's never seen this side of Eric, and even though she's heard the horror stories of his temper he's never been anything but gentle with her. "I get it now, you came here to Dauntless to manipulate me into joining your stupid cause. You decided that I could be your special project. Not Max or Jeanine, because they wouldn't fall for your pretty hazel eyes, or your sweet innocent Abnegation charm. But I would, right Tris? The fucked up kid from Erudite, the one who no one gave a damn about, easy target right?" Eric seethes.

"Eric, no..."

"I told you to shut up!" He yells. "You don't get to lie to me anymore!"

Tris jumps to her feet and runs towards his door, throwing it open and taking off down the corridor, not looking back even as she hears Eric yelling her name. Tris runs as fast as she can towards the pit, and no one pays the girl any attention since carefree and often reckless behavior is expected throughout the compound. She has tears in her eyes and she's distracted when she runs full force into someone else, sending them both crashing to the ground.

"Holy crap, I think you may have broken my ass bone." Zeke laughs, but the look on the girl's face wipes the smile off of his. "Tris, are you ok?" He asks.

"I'm sorry." She croaks out before bursting into tears.

"Oh no, I don't know how to deal with tears. Are you hurt?" Zeke asks as he moves towards Tris, looking her over. Tris shakes her head but cries harder. "Want me to call Eric?" He asks and she shakes her head again. The girl is almost hysterical, crying so hard she's having a hard time breathing. Zeke doesn't know what to do, so he picks her up and walks quickly down several cooridors before stopping in front of a doorway. He punches a code in and opens the door, looking around frantically.

"Hey man, are you home?" He yells.

"You forget how to knock?" Four yells from down the hall, laughing as he walks towards the living room. He immediately stops laughing when he sees his best friend standing in the middle of the room, with a sobbing Tris in his arms. "What happened to her?" Four asks as he rushes towards them.

"I have no idea. She ran into me, literally, it knocked both of us on our asses. She's been bawling ever since. I don't know how to fix this." Zeke rambles. "She didn't want me to call Eric, as a matter of fact she started really bawling when I mentioned him."

Tris wriggles against Zeke's arms and he sets her down. Four reaches out for Tris, and she willingly takes his hand as he leads her to his couch.

"You got this?" Zeke asks awkwardly and Four nods. He turns to leave and Tris calls out for him.

"Thank you." She says quietly and Zeke nods at her before slipping out of the apartment.

Four watches Tris carefully, also scanning over her looking for injuries. He doesn't know what's going on, and he is surprised that twice in as many days his tough as nails initiate had been reduced to tears. Based on her hysterics along with her reluctance to let Zeke call Eric he assumes that whatever has her so upset has everything to do with Eric.

"Tris, what happened?" He asks gently.

"Nothing." She whispers.

"You can talk to me, you know. I won't judge you, or him for that matter." Four says.

"What makes you think it has anything to do with Eric?" Tris asks angrily.

"We have come entirely too far for you to start lying to me Tris. We're all in this together, so if something's happened between the two of you, I need to know." He says firmly.

"We had a disagreement. It's nothing." Tris replies. She's not making eye contact with Four, something he immediately picks up on.

"Tris, I can't help you if you lie to me." Four says gently. "Please talk to me."

They are interrupted by the text alert on Four's phone. He scowls before standing up. "Sorry, that is the tone I have set for Max, and I need to check it." He explains.

"It's fine. _I'm_ fine, I can leave Four." Tris replies as she stands up. Four places his hands on hers.

"Just wait, please." He asks and she nods once before sitting back down. Four reads the text silently, and suddenly he speaks again. "Fuck." He whispers.

Tris looks over at her instructor with a curious gaze. Four is rapidly typing his response, and once he finishes he puts the phone down and grabs his boots, lacing them quickly on his feet.

"Is something wrong?" She asks.

Four sighs but doesn't answer. He looks at the floor and immediately picks his phone up when the text alert goes off. Tris watches his face carefully as he shakes his head and slips his phone into his pocket.

"There's been an incident at the chasm. I have to go. You can stay here, I'll be back soon." Four answers as he stands to leave.

"What happened?" Tris asks.

Four opens a closet, pulling out a large box. He rummages through it until he finds what he's looking for. He hands a phone and charging cable to Tris.

"This is my old phone, it still has service and it's own separate phone number. I got the newer one when I became an initiate trainer and I was too preoccupied to turn the old one in. It has everyone's numbers programmed already, so if you need me you can text or call. I'll text you when I can. Just hang out here, it's fine. You can watch TV and help yourself to anything in the kitchen." He tucks her hair behind her ears and for a brief moment panic sets in as Tris thinks he may kiss her. He looks at her for several seconds before dropping his hands. "Just try to keep the phone hidden, no need for more jealously to break out amongst the initiates." He sends Tris a text from his phone and she glances at the phone in her hand.

"What's this?" She asks.

"My door code, in case you need it. I'll be back soon." He finally walks out the door, leaving a confused Tris in his wake.

Tris looks at the phone in her hands, scrolling through the contacts until she finds Eric. She begins to compose a text message to him, hovering her finger over the send button with butterflies in her stomach, but she can't bring herself to send the message. She stares at the phone in her lap, getting lost in her thoughts.

Four makes his way to the chasm where he meets Max, Eric and Lauren. He watches as a crew works to pull a body out of the chasm.

"Do we know who it is?" Four asks.

"One of yours, unfortunately." Max replies somberly. "The bigger boy, Albert."

Four shakes his head slightly. "Any sign of foul play?" He asks.

"No, he left a note as well." Max replies gesturing to a folded piece of paper in Lauren's hand. She hands the paper over to Four.

He reads the note and his stomach drops. It's obvious the boy was troubled, and he knew he wasn't going to make the final cuts and would end up factionless. However, it's the blame he places on Tris in his own handwritten words that troubles Four. He reads over the words again, slowly shaking his head.

 _You had everything but you couldn't spare a second of your precious time for me. You should have forgiven me. I hope you can live with yourself._

"This is terrible." Four says out loud.

"She doesn't need to ever see this." Eric replies, startling Four.

"No, she doesn't." He agrees, looking at the other man. Four is surprised when he sees Eric's bloodshot and swollen eyes, and he knows that whatever tears that's he's shed have nothing to do with the body that's being hoisted out of the chasm and everything to do with the young woman he left at his apartment. Four doesn't know what possesses him to say the next words that tumble out of his mouth. "Are you ok?"

Eric gives Four a sharp look before speaking. "Where is she?" He asks.

"At my apartment." He answers honestly.

Eric shakes his head and runs a hand through his hair. "Do you seriously just wait in the shadows for me to fuck up and pounce on her the first chance you get?" The young leader growls.

"Before this goes any further you should know that Zeke found her crying hysterically in a hallway and didn't know what to do so he brought her to my place. He was going to take her to you but she refused." Four answers angrily. "What did you do to her?" He asks.

Eric says nothing and they are interrupted when Max walks over to them. "They're going to take the body to the morgue. Eric, do you want to give the speech?" Max asks.

"No." Eric replies bitterly. "He was a fucking coward. I won't stand there and give some canned speech about his supposed bravery. Have one of the other leaders do it."

Max is unhappy with Eric's attitude but he says nothing. He notices the young leader has been troubled tonight, and he knows it's nothing to do with Albert's suicide. He decides a conversation with Jeanine is in order, and he makes a mental note to bring it up when he sees her tonight. Max glances at his watch and realizes he only has a couple of hours before he's due to leave for his rendezvous with Jeanine.

"Fine, I'll have Harrison give the speech. Go get some sleep, you look like hell." Max commands and Eric stalks off.

He turns his attention to Four. "I have a question for you." He says to the trainer.

"Ok..." Four replies warily.

"Do you know what's going on between Eric and Tris Prior?" He asks bluntly.

Four realizes that Max is hesitant to trust Eric and he knows for their plan to work he needs to make Eric appear to still be the cruel bastard that he knows he is.

"She's a girl with a pretty foolish crush on Eric." Four answers with a shrug. "He seems to just be stringing her along, kind of toying with her emotions. Why do you ask?" He asks in a nonchalant way.

"Curiosity. Eric's been distracted the past few days, I was wondering if the girl had something to do with it." Max replies.

"Doubtful. He's compared her to a mosquito, always buzzing around wanting something when all he wants to do is smack her away." Four replies, getting a hearty laugh from Max.

"That sounds like Eric. Four, I'd like to talk to you about working with me on a special project. Can you come by my office tomorrow evening after training?" Max asks.

Four knows that his feigned attitude towards Tris, coupled with Max's longtime desire to have him in leadership may have given him access to Max's inner circle. He thinks that perhaps he has gained Max's trust.

"Yes sir, absolutely." He replies. Max claps him on the shoulder before dismissing him for the evening. He heads back to his apartment and finds Eric sitting in the hallway outside of his door.

"What are you doing?" Four asks Eric.

"She wouldn't answer the door." He replies.

Four shakes his head and punches in his keycode. He opens the door a crack before turning to face Eric. "Wait out here." He commands. Eric glares at him, but steps back and leans against the wall.

Four walks into his apartment and finds it empty. There is no sign of Tris, but he notices she took the phone and charger with her. He hears Eric's impatient knocking on the door and he swings it open.

"She's gone." He says to Eric.

"Where?" Eric asks.

"We got here the same time, I don't know anything more than you do. She probably just needs some time alone." Four offers.

"I need to find her." Eric says as he roughly pushes past Four while he stalks away.

"Asshole." Four mumbles before closing his door and heading in the opposite direction that Eric took off in.

After leaving Four's apartment, Tris heads towards the chasm. She finds many people gathered around, and she makes her way through the crowd to where she sees Will and Christina standing.

"What's going on?" Tris asks her friends. Christina turns to her with tears in her eyes.

"It's Al." Christina whispers.

"What? No..." Tris replies. She suddenly feels very hot and nauseous. She watches as Will wraps his arms around Christina offering silent comfort to her steady flow of tears. She feels a vibration in her pocket and she quietly slips away from the crowd unnoticed. Tris ducks away in an alcove and checks the phone. She finds that she has a text from Four.

 _F: "Where are you?"_

Tris glances around before typing out her reply.

 _T: "Alcove by the chasm. No cameras."_

She presses send and waits. His reply is almost immediate.

 _F: "Stay put please. Be right there."_

She slides down the wall to a seated position, wrapping her arms around her legs and resting her chin on her knees. She's soon joined by Four, who quietly slips beside her unnoticed and sinks down next to her.

"It's my fault. If I'd have forgiven him he'd still be alive." Tris says quietly.

"He was going to fail and he was terrified of being factionless. This had nothing to do with you Tris." Four replies. "Eric is looking for you. He looks like pure shit."

Tris sighs as she hugs her arms tighter around her legs. She makes no move to speak and Four continues talking.

"What happened?" He asks.

"It's not my place to talk about what's going on with him." She replies vaguely.

"Tris, is he still on our side? Has whatever that's happened compromised him?" Four asks.

"I don't know." Tris whispers and Four's breath hitches.

"We need to find him and talk to him." Four replies as he hears whistling and shouting as Harrison begins his speech about Al.

"Shouldn't you be paying your respects?" Tris says bitterly.

"No, you should know me better than that." Four replies as he stands up. He offers his hands to Tris and pulls her in a standing position. They can hear Harrison speaking of Al's bravery and Four notices the tears pooling in Tris' eyes.

"He was my friend before everything." She says.

Four reaches out and wipes the rogue tears from her cheeks. "He doesn't deserve your tears. A friend _never_ would have done what he did to you."

The eerie blue light from the alcove reflects off of Tris' face and Four can't help but notice how beautiful she is. He shakes the thoughts from his head, knowing that even though Eric has screwed up this isn't the time for him to swoop in on Tris. She needs a friend, and that's what he will be. There's not a lot of space between the two of them, and neither make an attempt to move. Four can see the turmoil that today's events have put Tris through, and he pulls the young woman into his arms and embraces her as she softly cries against his shoulder.

"Tris, what did he do?" He asks quietly.

"He's had a really rough few days. He was upset about something he just learned and he yelled at me." She whispers.

"Has that happened before?" Four asks.

"Never." She whispers finding her voice mostly muffled by Four's shoulder. "I need to find him."

Four is torn, on one hand he wants to be selfish and keep Tris away from Eric now that she's had a glimpse of how he can be. On the other hand he knows that just the things he has personally witnessed these past two days with Eric could be enough to push any sane man to his breaking point, and he can tell from Tris' vague responses that more has transpired that he doesn't know about. As much as he despises Eric, he has to admit that the things that the young leader opened up about were shocking, and more than explained Eric's mistrust of everyone. Four grabs his phone from his pocket and sends Eric a quick text.

 _F: "Found her. Can we meet at your apartment in a couple of minutes?"_

Eric's reply is almost instantaneous.

 _E: "Yes, meet you there."_

Four squeezes Tris' shoulder. "Lets go." He and Tris walk to Eric's apartment. Once at the door, Tris punches in the code and walks in. The apartment is dark inside, and Tris flips on the light switch before she begins nervously pacing. Four stands awkwardly just inside the doorway, jumping as he hears someone punching in the code to unlock the door behind him.

"Hey." Four says to Eric and he nods in his direction, but his eyes are planted on his girlfriend. "I'm going to go. Are we still on for meeting here after curfew?"

Eric doesn't answer, he's too focused on Tris. She looks at Four and replies. "Yes."

"Are you going to be ok here alone with him?" He asks Tris in a low voice.

"Of course I will be. Thank you for everything." She replies.

Four nods his head in acknowledgment and turns towards the door.

"Thanks." Eric mumbles to the other man.

"Don't thank me yet." Four replies sarcastically as he walks out the door.

Eric walks towards Tris and she turns to face him. They take in each other's appearance, both having swollen, red eyes and both looking quite exhausted from the previous days events.

"I'm so sorry." Eric chokes out. Tris immediately wraps her arms around his waist and buries her face in the crook of his neck. He relaxes considerably at her touch. "I shouldn't have yelled at you. I'm so damn sorry baby. Please forgive me."

"I don't like that you yelled at me, but you've been through so much in these past couple of days. I shouldn't have ran off the way I did." Tris replies.

"Tris, promise me you aren't with me just because of this war." Eric says quietly.

"I promise you that I'm not. I've given you everything Eric, my trust, my love, my virginity, and I've put my life in your hands. How can you still doubt me? Do you really think so little of me? Do you think I'd give you any part of myself if I wasn't in love with you and if I wasn't fully committed to you?"

"Please forgive me. I can't do this without you." Eric replies. He holds Tris so tightly that she's afraid he's going to leave bruises. He's terrified that she may break up with him.

"Do you think I'm going to leave you?" She asks.

"Yes." He replies without hesitation.

"Eric, I will _never_ leave you. I will always choose you, over and over, every day for the rest of my life. I promise you that." She replies resolutely.

Eric releases the breath he was holding. He loosens his grip on Tris, but she makes no effort to move out of his embrace.

"I promise you the same things Tris. I will _always_ choose you." Eric replies. He pulls back slightly and leans in to kiss her. The two break apart and sit down on the love seat together.

"Eric, if Jeanine is telling the truth and if your father is actually alive..." Tris stops talking. She's not sure how to even broach the subject of George with Eric.

"Tris, just say whatever you're thinking. Please. I don't want there to be any secrets between us." Eric gently prods.

"There are many 'what if's' Eric." She sighs. He urges her to continue. "If your father is alive, and he's on Jeanine's side, what does that mean for you?" She finally asks.

Eric is at a loss for words. This is the same exact argument he's been waging inside of his head ever since Jeanine first brought up his father days ago. If he is faced with making a choice his selection is clear.

"It means just what I said earlier, I'll _always_ choose you Tris. You are the only person who has ever loved me unconditionally, and I refuse to allow myself to ever be put in a situation where our relationship may be compromised." Eric answers resolutely.

"I don't want you to resent me. I don't ever want to hold you back from knowing your father." Tris replies quietly.

Eric doesn't immediately reply, he's at a loss for words and he doesn't want Tris to feel any more guilty than she already does. He wraps his arms around her and simply holds her as they sit together in comfortable silence.

"Being with you has changed me. I want to know my father, and if by some small miracle he is actually alive I hope that I get the chance to meet him. If the worst case scenario is true, and he is in fact on Jeanine's side it wouldn't sway me. You mean everything to me, I was sincere when I told you that before, and there's nothing that can happen that will ever make me turn from you." Eric replies.

The two young lovers sit together on the loveseat talking quietly and occasionally watching TV as the evening passes. The simplicity of the evening reminds them both of an easier time, when their relationship was new and the biggest worry between them was wondering who would make the first move to cross from friendship into something more.

It's a little after curfew when they hear a gentle knock on the door. Eric and Tris separate their entwined bodies and both walk to the door and open it for their guests. They are surprised at the group they find in front of them, not only do they have Four, Tori, Chris, Will and Zeke, they also have Shauna, Marlene and Lynn as well as Ryder, Veronica and Casey who Tris and Eric recognize as Tori's husband and their friends and coworkers from the tattoo shop.

Once introductions are made everyone gets seated either on the furniture or floor and soon strategies are being openly discussed. Tris looks around at their group, watching the way the many couples are interacting with each other as well as the rest of the group. Will and Christina have a deep bond that reminds Tris of what she and Eric share. Uriah and Marlene may not have admitted their feelings to each other as of yet, but their body language says everything the two of them are afraid to admit. Lynn and Veronica have never publically acknowledged their relationship, but their entwined hands and soft touches speak volumes to the obvious love they share. Tris has never seen Four show interest in anyone other than herself, but she notices the subtle looks he shares with Casey, the pretty blonde who works with Tori that appears to be close in age with Eric and Four. Tori and Ryder have been married since the two were eighteen and twenty years old, and their love for each other is strong and proven and it shows without effort. Tris silently wonders if she and Eric will someday be where Tori and Ryder are now.

Eric looks over at his girlfriend and follows her line of sight to Ryder and Tori. He glances back at Tris and notices she appears deep in thought. He squeezes her hand slightly and she blushes as she turns her attention to him. He leans over and presses a kiss to her lips before moving towards her ear.

"One day." He whispers nervously, hoping that he won't scare her away. She turns to face him with a small smile on her face and she nods before giving him a chaste kiss. The two turn their attention back to the conversation, with unspoken promises of a future together motivating their thoughts as they continue to develop their plans for stopping the war.


	14. Chapter 14

**AN: I really love that so many of you have taken the time to review, favorite and follow this story. Thank you so much, you have no idea how motivating it is to see those things.**

"Why is your alarm going off so early?" Tris whines as she snuggles closer to Eric, savoring the natural warmth of his body.

"Because someone wanted me to sneak her into the dorm this morning." Eric sleepily replies.

"I changed my mind." Tris retorts.

"Mmmhmm." Eric hums as Tris chuckles at him. "We have a couple more hours we can sleep then."

"Or do other things." She replies seductively, and she immediately has his full attention.

He feels Tris planting kisses on his bare chest while trailing her fingers up and down his abs. He puts his hands under the tshirt of his that she's currently wearing, gently rubbing his hands up and down her back, wandering down to cup her perfect bottom every once in awhile.

Eric lets his hands wander further, gently moving to her front and skimming over her breasts. Tris arches into his touch and Eric swiftly removes her shirt to gain better access. His confidence is slowly building, and he kisses down her throat and trails his tongue down to her breasts, flicking each of her taut nipples with his tongue before sucking one into his mouth. Tris moans slightly and slips her hand inside of his boxers and begins stroking his engorged member.

"Fuck..." Eric moans. He moves her panties to the side and slips his fingers through her wet folds, circling her bud before slowly pushing his index finger into her warm core. Tris moans into their kiss and she begins lifting her hips in time with his movements. Eric pushes a second finger inside, using the pad of his thumb to continue to rub her bundle of nerves as she writhes below him in pleasure.

"Oh Eric, yes, just like that." Tris breathes as she continues to stroke him. Her back arches against him as he feels her walls pulsing around his fingers as she calls his name repeatedly.

When she stops moving he slowly withdraws his fingers from her heat as he deeply kisses her. Her breath is ragged as she comes down from her high. Eric slips her panties down her long legs and when he's finished removing them Tris tugs his boxers down. There's no nervousness this time as Eric moves so he's hovering over his girlfriend as they continue to kiss each other passionately. He guides himself into her warm center, slowing his movements to give her time to adjust. When she moves her hips he begins thrusting in her and Tris moans in pleasure each time he rubs against her.

"Tris...you feel amazing..." he breathes, Eric moves to flip them so he's lying down on the bed and Tris is on top of him. Tris suddenly gets nervous and Eric notices.

"Baby, it's ok, I want you to do this." He says in a quiet voice.

"I don't know how." She replies shyly.

"Me either, we learn together." Eric replies. He grasps his hard member in his hand and helps Tris line up with him. She slowly sinks down on him and he's overwhelmed with the sensation of being buried so deep inside of her.

"Oh my god this feels good." Tris moans. She starts rocking her hips against Eric, and they quickly find a rhythm. Tris braces her hands on Eric's chest as she moves against him.

Tris breathing becomes labored and her moans louder as she moves. Eric has never seen anything as stunning as she looks right now, her long hair fanned down her back as she rides him, taking control of her pleasure. Eric can feel her walls begin to pulse around him just like they did around his fingers before, and he realizes that Tris is about to reach her second peak of the morning.

"Eric...oh my god... yes baby..." she calls out as she falls apart, her warmth gripping onto Eric as his own release hits him full force, causing him to yell her name as he pounds his hips against hers.

Tris collapses against Eric, their sweaty bodies pressed together as they both try to catch their breath.

"That just happened. Twice. I never knew it could feel so good." Tris breathes out.

"Baby you have no idea how good you felt around me. Now that I've felt that it's going to be my life's fucking goal to make it happen every time." Eric replies. He pushes her sweaty hair back away from her face as he presses a hard kiss to her lips.

They lie there together for several minutes, with Tris sprawled across Eric's chest as he trails his fingers up and down her spine. They both fall asleep, only stirring when Eric's second alarm goes off.

"I hate mornings." Tris groans.

"I don't hate how this morning started." Eric replies.

"There is so much about that statement that I agree with." Tris replies. "I'll start the coffee pot if you get the shower ready. I'm all sticky and gross."

"Deal." Eric answers. Tris leans down and kisses him fully before rolling off of him and getting out of bed. Eric watches as she slips his tshirt over her beautiful body, and he enjoys watching her pull her panties back on.

"Enjoying the show?" Tris smirks at him.

"I much prefer you taking it all off." Eric purrs seductively. Tris crawls over to him and kisses him before jumping up and heading to the kitchen. Eric chuckles as he rolls out of bed and walks naked into the bathroom to start the shower.

They are showered, dressed, full of coffee and down in the cafeteria for breakfast in less than thirty minutes, joining their friends at a table.

Christina looks between Eric and Tris and she cracks a knowing smile. Tris catches her eye and arches an eyebrow. Chris mouths the word "Later" to Tris, and she catches the blush rise on her friend's cheeks.

Breakfast is quiet, with little conversation as everyone tries to wake up after the extremely late night of strategizing they all shared. Eric stifles a yawn as he drinks another cup of coffee, hoping to get a burst of energy from its caffeine. Last night's strategy session went well into the early hours of the morning, and it seemed as if he and Tris had just fallen asleep when his alarm started blaring. He can't help but grin when he thinks about their earlier activities from this morning. He squeezes Tris' hand under the table and she casts a knowing glance in his direction. He leans closer to her and whispers in her ear.

"You have no idea how much I want to kiss you right now." His whispered voice is full of want and need and Tris shudders from his intensity this morning. She glances over to him and raises her eyebrows before giving him a small grin.

"I'll see you all soon." Tris offers as she gets up from the table and deposits her tray on the conveyor. Eric is right on her heels, knowing from the look they exchanged that Tris has something on her mind. Tris doesn't acknowledge his presence behind her, and she wordlessly leads them into the same small alcove that Uriah led her to before. She presses her back against the cool stone wall and pulls Eric against her while capturing his lips with her own. The two kiss passionately until breathing becomes an issue.

"I love you so much." Tris says quietly to Eric.

"I love you too." He replies before kissing her again. They hear the sounds of the initiates laughing and roughhousing as they make their way to training. Eric and Tris reluctantly break apart and head to the training room separately. Eric trails behind and watches Tris and Christina walk together to the training room, the two young women exchanging whispers along the way. Eric grins again, knowing that Christina is likely grilling Tris about what she's been up to all weekend. Christina glances back over her shoulder and catches Eric smiling.

"Oh my goodness, you two finally slept together." Christina whispers to Tris. "Don't even try to deny it, your blush is totally giving you away right now, and I've _never_ seen Eric smile before."

"Fine, I can't deny it." Tris whispers back and Christina giggles next to her.

"So...was it everything you thought it would be?" Chris asks.

"It was amazing." Tris replies with a huge smile as Chris returns with a grin of her own.

"So, you two are in love?" Christina whispers as she raises her eyebrows.

"Yeah." Tris smiles. "Without a doubt."

"Who would have thought it, the little Abnegation girl and the stone cold asshat." Christina puts her hand to her forehead and makes a swooning gesture.

"You are so dramatic." Tris giggles as she pokes her best friend in her side.

The two bound through the training room door and continue to whisper to each other until a loud banging on the table causes all of the side conversations in the room to cease.

"Today we are taking a break from mental training to continue your physical training." Lauren calls out as Four paces behind the initiates. "Being a soldier in Dauntless means keeping yourself in top physical shape, and being prepared both physically and mentally for anything thrown your direction. To be as fair as possible, we will not be choosing your opponents today."

There are whispers and murmurs amongst the initiates and neither Eric nor Four miss the smirk that forms on Lauren's face. Finally, a Dauntless born named Cadence breaks the silence.

"So we get to pick our opponents?" She asks and Lauren smiles widely.

"Indeed you do." Lauren replies. The whispers in the room turn into full blown conversations.

"Quiet!" Eric bellows causing more than one initiate to jump. Four stops pacing behind the group and joins Lauren at the front. He's holding a small bag in his hand and he clears his throat before speaking.

"You will pick a name from this bag and fight whoever it is. You will grab one piece of paper and hand it to me without looking at it." He commands. "We will be picking in ranking order. Tris, you're first."

Eric watches as Tris reaches inside of the bag and pulls out a slip of paper. She hands the slip to Four and his eyes widen as he unfolds the paper.

"Your opponent is Peter." Four says. Eric's eyes snap to the instructor and even though neither man will openly betray their emotions both can sense the nervousness that Eric's feeling.

Tris is physically fit, having gained a lot of muscle mass and endurance during her time in Dauntless, but she is no match for the larger and more muscular Peter. Given their history as well this fight could become brutal.

Tris takes a deep breath and heads towards the ring. She is abruptly stopped by a hand on her arm. She turns and sees the conflicted eyes of her boyfriend.

"You're faster than him, take advantage and make sure you hit him first. He steps before he swings, look out for that. You can do this." He whispers. He mouths the words 'I love you' and Tris mouths them back before he releases her arm. Eric watches silently as his girlfriend and Peter take their places in the ring.

"Begin." Lauren calls out.

Peter and Tris both take a defensive posture, and Peter begins to slowly circle Tris as if he's stalking his prey.

"You look like you're gonna cry, Stiff. I make take it easier on you if you squeeze a few tears out." Peter chides. Tris strikes him in the throat, catching him off guard and causing him to break his stance. She quickly lands another punch, this time to his jaw and a swift kick to his kidney.

"Get him Tris!" Christina calls from the side of the ring.

"Feisty. I finally know what it is that Eric sees in you, besides your great tits and perfect ass." Peter says loudly, causing Tris to momentarily let her guard down. Peter takes full advantage by punching her in the face, causing her nose to bleed and she stumbles slightly.

"Fuck you." She snarls as she wipes her nose across her arm and takes her defensive posture.

"What a dirty little mouth you have Stiff. Do you kiss our leader with that mouth?" Peter jeers at Tris and she takes another powerful swing at the young man, making contact with his temple and momentarily stunning him. He shakes his head before speaking again.

"You probably don't talk much at all, do you? Not much to say when you're fucking him, huh? Or, maybe you talk too much and he has to put his dick in your mouth to shut you up!" Peter almost shouts.

Tris can hear a combination of laughter and loud whispers coming from the initiates watching the fight. She is embarrassed, for herself and for Eric having to hear someone talk so crassly about their private life. Even though she's sure that Peter is just talking shit to get a rise out of her, there's a part of her that realizes he is at least wise to the fact that there is more to Tris and Eric than an initiate and leader relationship.

"You're pathetic Peter. You want it to be _your_ dick in my mouth, don't you?" Tris sneers with a courage she didn't know she had. "Poor Peter, you want to fuck me so badly that you had to have your friends help you hold me down so you could try to force me. You are so fucking disgusting."

Eric takes a deep breath in while attempting to calm the anger he's feeling. He is not only close to stopping this fight, he wants nothing more than to jump in the ring and beat the life out of Peter. Four walks over to Eric and stands close to him.

"Whatever you're thinking has to stop. Your anger is written all over your face." He whispers as the two young men continue to watch Tris and Peter circle each other.

"I want him dead." Eric growls.

"You'll get your chance." Four replies.

"Stop playing with each other!" Max shouts from the doorway. Four and Eric snap to attention, not realizing the head leader had joined them.

Tris and Peter both jump when they hear Max's booming voice. The eldest leader has never watched their training, and both are nervous as the intimidating man walks closer to the ring.

"I came to see a fight, now don't disappoint me." Max says in his smooth voice. His dark brown eyes are gleaming, and he has a deadly look on his face.

Peter steps towards Tris and takes a hard swing at her side which she deftly blocks. She kicks at him but he grabs her leg and forces her down on the ground. He quickly straddles her and pins her to the ground with his body weight.

"Is this what you've been waiting for, Stiff? I have. I want you to fuck me like you fuck Eric." He says in a low voice close to her ear. He grinds against her and licks the shell of her ear.

Four can hear the low growl that Eric emits before the leader yells. "Hayes, keep your tongue in your mouth and your dick in your pants. Show some fucking respect!" He bellows.

Peter loses his composure momentarily and Tris raises her knee and makes hard contact with his groin, causing him to roll off of her and double over in pain.

"That will _never_ happen." Tris spits as she jumps to her feet and proceeds to land several hard kicks to Peter's kidneys. She straddles him and tries to pin his arms to the ground, but he's too quick and he rolls out from under her and jumps to his feet.

Tris quickly rises to her feet, but before she can get her hands up Peter lands a hard punch to her temple. She falls to the mat in a heap, her head smacking loudly against the floor and Peter steps away from her thinking he's won the fight.

Eric begins to move towards the ring to get to his girlfriend but Max's loud voice stops him in his tracks.

"Its not over, she's still got fight left in her." Max booms, nodding his head in Tris' direction. Lauren, Four and Eric look on in horror as Tris dizzily crawls to a kneeling position, clearly in a daze. None of the instructors can contradict their head leader, so the three watch in silent horror.

Tris finally returns to her feet, wobbling slightly and an obvious vacancy in her eyes. Eric can almost guarantee she has a concussion, but Max doesn't care. Peter steps towards Tris again and she somehow ducks his punch and lands her own punch to his already weakened kidney area. She spins slightly and kicks him hard in the stomach, knocking the air out of him. He recovers quickly and kicks her side and attempts to punch her stomach, but she blocks his punch and moves slightly away from him. Before she has a chance to react he lands a hard uppercut to her jaw and she drops to the mat again. Peter bounces on the balls of his feet and looks at Max for guidance. The three instructors watch as Max nods at Peter, and Eric begins to move towards the mat. Four's tight grip on his arm stops him, and although he knows the instructor is just as torn as he is, he's holding himself together much better than Eric. The two men watch in horror as Peter raises his foot and repeatedly slams it down on Tris' head until she's bloody and semi conscious. Peter looks over at Max again, and Max finally speaks.

"Finish her."

Peter kneels next to Tris but makes no movement. Max's gravelly voice breaks his thoughts.

"You heard me Hayes, finish her." Max repeats.

Peter places his hands on either side of Tris' swollen face and lifts her head. He closes his eyes as he slams the back of her head against the mat. A low wail comes out of her mouth, but she still is conscious. Peter continues to slam her head against the hard mat until she's limp. Her head bounces off the mat after his last slam and Peter once again looks at Max before he shoves Tris' limp body to prove his fighting prowess. Peter smacks Tris across the face and Max makes no effort to stop the bloodbath in front of him, instead he watches Peter in awe.

Eric begins to make a noise that sounds like a primal roar and Four once again blocks the leader from moving towards the ring.

"It's over!" Four finally shouts in an effort to cover for Eric. Four deftly jumps into the ring.

Peter smirks and spits blood down on Tris before kicking her side one last time. Four jumps in the younger man's face and Peter quickly backs away.

Eric pushes his way into the ring and picks up his battered and limp girlfriend. He supports her head like one would hold a baby as he cradles her closely to his body. He doesn't care who sees him or what they think, all he can focus on is getting her medical treatment as quickly as possible. He stumbles out of the ring and takes off in a full sprint towards the infirmary. Max watches his young leader carefully and he is now fully convinced that Tris is more than an assignment to Eric. He knows he needs to convince Jeanine as well, and it may be time to finally use the knowledge she has of his father to get the boy's focus back on the project he's been assigned.

Max walks over to Four and gestures for the young instructor to follow him. He watches as Lauren prepares the next fight between Uriah and Lynn as he begins speaking to Four in a low voice.

"Can I trust you?" Max asks Four.

"Absolutely sir." Four responds.

"Don't forget to be at my office after training. No one needs to know about our meeting, especially not Eric." He replies.

"The less that asshole knows about my life, the better." Four scoffs.

"Good man, that's what I like to hear." Max replies.

"Sir, can you tell me what the meeting is about? I'd like to be prepared." Four hedges.

Max glances over at the Eaton boy and looks for any signs of deception. He's wanted the younger man in leadership since learning of his troubled relationship with his father. The type of hell that Marcus Eaton put his only son through is enough motivation for the younger Eaton to want revenge. It's one thing that Max and Jeanine firmly agree on.

"Leadership, of course, but with some perks that very well sweeten the offer. Can I count on you to be there?" Max asks.

"Yes sir, I wouldn't miss it for the world." Four replies and Max acknowledges him with a smile. Both men then their attention back to the fight in front of them, watching yet another brutal show between two strong fighters. This time, it's an almost evenly matched pair, but even so it sickens both Four and Lauren to watch it.

Four keeps a poker face as he watches the fight, aware that Max is watching him.

Eric's in full panic mode as he runs to the infirmary with a firm grip on the unconscious woman in his arms. He bursts through the doors, causing the green haired man at the desk to jump out of his chair.

"Follow me." He commands as he leads Eric towards a room near the back of the infirmary.

"Get Shauna." Eric commands and the young man nods his head as several nurses rush in.

"What happened to her?" He hears Shauna ask as she rushes into the room.

"Fight. Max wouldn't let it end until she was out." Eric says as he helplessly watches the nurses and Shauna work on Tris.

"Eric, you shouldn't be here. What if Max..." Shauna begins but Eric cuts her off.

"I'm not leaving." He replies in a hard tone and Shauna nods her head as she continues to work on Tris.

"You have to wait outside." A dark haired nurse says to Eric.

"No." Eric almost shouts as he firmly holds his ground. The nurse places his hands on Eric's shoulders before speaking again.

"It's not a request. We need to be able to focus on her and we can't with you in here. Come with me." He commands and Eric steals one last look at his girlfriend as he allows the nurse to lead him to a chair in the hallway. "I'll be back with an update soon." He says before disappearing back into the room.

Eric leans forward with his elbows on his knees and his head in his hands. Max tested him today, and he risked Tris' life in an effort to not fail. All he can think about was the way her head limply rolled around when he picked her up and the thought of it makes him sick to his stomach, causing him to gag. He looks for a trash can and one is roughly thrust in front of him. He vomits violently until there is nothing left in his stomach, and he is wracked with dry heaves.

"Try to take deep breaths, hold them in for a count of five them slowly release them. It'll help with the dry heaves." He looks up and finds Zeke beside him, holding his hair back. He must see the perplexed look on Eric's face so he continues speaking. "I saw you on the cameras, running here with her. I thought you could use a friend."

"Thanks." Eric croaks out as the urge to vomit returns. He bends over the trash can and heaves a burning liquid out. He can feel Zeke putting an elastic in his hair to hold it back and he passes a cool washcloth to Eric.

"She's going to be ok man. You gotta calm down. Take deep breaths like I told you." Zeke demonstrates the breathing technique as he sits next to Eric. A janitor comes to clean the trash can and drops a new one in its place in front of Eric. Zeke and Eric breathe in sync until Eric's stomach feels less queasy.

Zeke grabs the washcloth from Eric and goes into the small bathroom next to them to wet it again before handing it back. Eric gratefully takes it and places it on his forehead. He leans back against the wall in an effort to settle his nerves.

"What happened?" Zeke asks quietly.

"Max. He made Peter and Tris fight until she was out cold. She went completely limp Zeke, her head bounced off the mat the last time he slammed her head down." Eric answers.

"She's probably got a nasty concussion, we see those all the time here. Shauna won't let anything happen to her, you know that." Zeke replies. "Why would Max let it get that far? Doesn't he need her?" Zeke whispers the last part so only Eric can hear him.

"He was testing my loyalty. I don't think he expected Tris to last as long as she did against Peter, and once he'd issued the order to finish her he couldn't take it back." Eric replies quietly.

The two men sit in silence until Shauna comes out of the room. Eric and Zeke immediately jump to their feet.

"I believe she has a severe concussion and a I can see a hairline fracture in her left eye socket. That eye is completely swollen shut, and probably will be for at least a few days. She's not conscious but her vitals are stable. We're going to take her in for a CT scan." Shauna explains.

"Fuck. What does she need the scan for? Is it serious?" Eric asks.

"We can only see so much via X-ray, and when you're dealing with a head injury you can never be too careful. If we can't fully diagnose her injuries, there could be grave results." Shauna replies.

"Can I please see her?" Eric asks. Shauna nods and ushers Eric into the room.

"I'll be in the hallway if you need me." Zeke says as he eases out the door.

Eric looks at his girlfriend and swallows the bile that is rising in his throat. Her face has been cleaned, but it's grotesquely swollen and her left eye is as black as the shirt she wears. The IV steadily drips both a pain medication and an antibiotic, and the oxygen mask they've left over her nose and mouth fogs with each exhale Tris takes. Eric takes her hand in his and focuses on watching the oxygen mask fog and clear repeatedly.

"I'm so sorry baby. I should have stopped it." Eric says in a low voice. He brings her hand up slightly and presses his lips to it.

"You couldn't have done that, and you shouldn't be here. Max could drop by at any time and if he catches you in here like this you are both in a world of trouble." Four says from the doorway. He walks closer to the side of the bed before speaking again. "How is she?"

"She has a severe concussion and her eye socket is fractured. I should have stopped it."

"Max has already questioned you about your relationship, and he also started questioning me about it as well. You have to do whatever it takes to keep your feelings for her hidden." Four warns.

"I'm trying here. I fucking love her, do you have any idea what that's like? Having the person you love right in front of you, but you can't touch her or show any type of emotion towards her?" Eric says angrily.

"As a matter of fact I do know how that feels. It's even worse when you can _never_ express how you feel and you have to sit back and watch the person you care about make a huge fucking mistake with her life." Four spits.

"You need to move on. She's with me." Eric growls.

"Until you slip up again and let her see the _real_ you. I still don't know what it is that she sees in you." Four replies angrily.

"You two need to stop arguing! I can hear you from the hallway and I know Tris can hear you too. Do you think she wants to hear the two of you having a pissing contest right now?" Shauna hisses at the two hotheads.

"Shauna, Max is here and he wants to speak with you about her condition. Should I send him in?" A nurse asks from the doorway. Shauna shakes her head.

"No, I'm actually marking her as no visitors until we can get her properly diagnosed. Please show Max to the office and I'll be right there." Shauna answers. Once the nurse leaves, she turns towards Eric."You have to go, right now."

"I'm overseeing initiation, he'd understand why I'm here." Eric argues.

"Eric, your pain and worry is written all over your face. There's no way you can hide what you feel for her, and if Max learns the truth she's as good as dead. I will stay with her as long as possible." Four offers.

"Of course you'll stay with her, I'm sure that you'll love being the person she wakes up to." Eric spits.

"Both of you need to leave, now. Neither one of you have a poker face when it comes to her. Get out. Zeke is here, and he or I will keep you informed of her condition. I mean it, go!" Shauna says angrily.

Four glares at Eric before walking out the door. Shauna takes a deep breath and looks at Eric expectedly.

Eric looks down at his girlfriend and kisses her hand one more time before releasing it. "Tris, I love you." He says one last time before exiting her room.

"I'll text you updates." Shauna whispers to him before she walks away.

Eric leaves the infirmary on auto pilot. The years of solitude he was content with before meeting Tris seem to be so far behind him and all he can do is think about her. He mentally chastises himself again for not stopping the fight, and he feels the pain of nausea on his empty stomach.

He checks his phone for any messages from Shauna and he notices an unread message from Tori. He opens the message and finds she has asked that he stop by the tattoo shop when he can. He slowly makes his way to the shop thinking that anything is better than being alone with his racing thoughts right now.


	15. Chapter 15

Tori looks up when she hears the bell above the door ring, signaling that she has a customer. She is surprised to see Eric standing there, both since she never heard back from the text she sent earlier and because he looks extremely pale and distraught.

"Here, come sit. What's wrong? Do you need to go to the infirmary?" Tori asks as she leads Eric to her station. She takes in his pale and almost sickly appearance, along with his messily tied back hair. Eric never looks anything less than put together, so his almost catatonic current state has Tori extremely concerned.

"Tris…" He says and then leans over and takes his head in his hands.

"Did you two have an argument?" Tori asks carefully. The young leader is known to anger easily, especially when someone tries to speak with him about anything on a personal level.

"She's hurt. They had to take her to for a CT scan. I couldn't go with her." He replies without looking up.

Tori kneels down in front of Eric and speaks softly. "Eric, what happened?"

He takes a deep breath and meets Tori's eyes. "Today was physical training, which means more fighting. She drew Peter as her opponent, and she was holding her own until Max came in. He turned the fight brutal, and wouldn't allow any of us to call it until Tris was unconscious. Tori, it was really bad. He was kicking her in her face, and slamming her head onto the mat. When I picked her up to carry her to the infirmary she was completely limp."

"What did they say about her?" Tori asks. She is trying very hard to not let her panic show.

"Shauna said she needed a CT scan to properly diagnose her. All she could tell from the xray was that she has a fractured eye socket. She suspects that Tris has a concussion, but because of the severe injuries to her face and head she wanted to ensure there wasn't anything else. I wanted to stay with her but I couldn't. They said it'd draw too much attention." Eric replies.

Tori can see how upset the usually stone faced leader is and she realizes that right now he just needs someone to be there for him. Eric has been the textbook definition of a loner for the entire two years he's been in Dauntless, and likely for most of his life in Erudite. Some may view his connection to Tris as being codependent, but that couldn't be farther from the truth. Simply put, Eric has never had anyone truly show him love and affection before, and he'd never been in love before Tris.

"Shauna will take great care of her. She will not let any harm come to her. She's in the best possible hands if you can't physically be there for her." Tori says softly and Eric nods.

"I know. I want her to be ok Tori. I don't want her to wake up and be afraid. I don't want her to wonder why I'm not with her." He replies.

"Hey, she knows you love her. There's no doubt at all about that. She will have Shauna to answer questions when she wakes up, and she will understand why you couldn't go with her. She knows the risks of the two of you being together. She's incredibly smart, she will understand this." Tori explains.

They sit in silence for several minutes before Eric speaks again. "I want a tattoo."

Tori stands up and smiles at him. "Well you came to the right place. Do you know what you want?" She asks.

"I want her name, on my chest, where my heart is." Eric replies as he takes his shirt off and tosses it over the chair.

"Want it in black ink?" Tori asks as she begins to prepare her space.

"You're not going to tell me I'm crazy or talk me out of it?" Eric asks.

"Why would I?" Tori challenges.

"I'm eighteen, she's my first girlfriend, tattoos are permanent, we are too young to settle down… should I keep going?" Eric smirks.

"Hey Ry, could you come out here?" Tori yells across the shop and her husband soon pokes his head in from the back room.

"What's up babe? Oh hey Eric." Ryder says as he offers his hand and shakes with Eric.

"Can you show Eric your tattoo, the one above your heart?" Tori asks. Ryder quirks an eyebrow, but obliges his wife's request and lifts his shirt up far enough to expose his tattooed chest. Ryder is more ink than skin, with many tattoos done by his wife's hand. Right on his chest, above where his heart is the name 'Tori' is written in black script. He pulls his shirt back down and gives his wife a look. "Thanks hun, now can you tell him how old we were when you got it?" She asks.

"I was eighteen and you were sixteen. I got it a month after we met." Ryder replies with a chuckle. "People told me I was an idiot and that getting a woman's name tattooed on my body was the kiss of death for the relationship. They told me that I was way too young to do anything permanent like that. I guess we proved them wrong, huh babe?" He kisses Tori on her temple and wraps an arm around her shoulder. "Oh shit, you're getting your girl's name tattooed on you, aren't you?" Ryder asks Eric with a smile.

"Yeah, I was waiting for the speech about how much of an idiot I am for getting Tris' name tattooed on me." Eric replies.

"No opposition here man. Tori was sixteen when she had my name tattooed on her, I was eighteen like I said before. I want to say George was eighteen too when he had Amar's name tattooed, and Amar was what seventeen? It's a family tradition." Ryder replies with a laugh.

Tori cringes at Ryder's comments and she braces herself for Eric's reaction. She glances over at the young man and finds him deep in thought. Tori decides to take a chance and open the door a little wider.

"He had your name tattooed as well. It was on the inside of his left wrist." She says carefully. Ryder kisses her forehead and heads to the back of the shop again in an effort to give Eric and Tori some privacy. "In his heart, he knew you were his son, with or without a DNA test. I'm so sorry Eric, I should have told you when you transferred."

Eric's expression hardens and he closes his eyes. Tori finishes getting prepared for the tattoo, and she grabs her sketch pad to practice the script type writing she plans on using for Eric's tattoo.

"Tell me about him." Eric says so quietly that Tori almost misses it. Her heart skips a beat and she takes several seconds to compose herself before answering.

"He was incredibly kind, he was driven and serious but he had a great sense of humor too. Physically, you are built almost exactly like him. He was broad and fit like you are and he also liked wearing his hair long. Sometimes, when you pass by with that long ponytail I swear it's him."

"Was he outgoing?" Eric asks as Tori shows him some different options for his tattoo.

"He was actually more on the shy side. He and Amar balanced each other well, since Amar was the more outgoing of the two." Tori answers.

"I like this one." Eric replies, pointing to one of the freehand styles Tori offered. She busies herself preparing her tattoo gun. "So, how did he and my mother happen? I mean, he ended up with Amar and all…I mean how…fuck, this is coming out all wrong." Eric's frustration starts to come out.

Tori turns towards him and smiles. "That's a fair question Eric, don't worry about asking me anything. George didn't put a label on his sexuality, he believed in love. Your parents were only fourteen when they met, and George was helping your mother to get sober. Unfortunately, your mom had battled addictions from a very young age. What started as friendship moved in to young love, and obviously they had an intimate relationship. Your mom couldn't stay clean, and her relapse is what drove them apart. George tried to get her to come to Dauntless with him, but she chose Erudite at their choosing ceremony and they went their separate ways. He didn't know she was pregnant with you until after his initiation, and he tried to be there for everything he could. He was there when you were born, and for the first few years of your life. She sobered up when she found out she was pregnant, and she really tried to stay clean after you were born, but she just couldn't. George wanted to get custody of you, and your mom balked. She then said you weren't George's, she wouldn't allow him to see you and she ducked all legal attempts to have a DNA test done." Tori explains as she begins his tattoo. "He would try to see you when you were at school, and he sent money to your mom all the time. She blocked all methods of your father seeing you when she threatened to turn him in as a faction traitor for all the time he spent leaving Dauntless to see you."

"He wanted me?" Eric asks. Tori's heart breaks at the vulnerability in those few words.

"He always wanted you. He fought for you every day of his life. He loved you so much." Tori replies. She can feel the sting of unshed tears and she steels herself against the onslaught of emotions that discussing her brother brings to her. Tori focuses on the tattoo and when she sneaks glances at Eric she can see he also has tears in his eyes.

"Do you think if we can stop this war and he were around to see it that he would have been proud of me?" Eric says in a voice that barely carries over the buzz of the tattoo gun. Tori stops what she's doing and looks at Eric, and for the first time she doesn't see him as the rough young man she'd started to loathe in their two years of coexistence in Dauntless, she finally sees her nephew. This is her brother's son, the only thing she has left of the person who was her best friend.

"He would, absolutely. Eric, _I'm_ proud of you. I thought I had you all figured out and you proved me wrong. Tris was right about you; all you needed was the right influence in your life to be the man you truly are meant to be." Tori replies. "I'm so sorry that I never gave you a chance."

"I didn't give you or anyone else much reason to give me a chance. Talking to people, at least about personal things, isn't easy for me." Eric says quietly.

"Did you have any friends in Erudite, Eric?" Tori asks and the young leader shakes his head. She takes a deep breath before continuing. "I'm sorry that I didn't try harder to be in your life. You have every right to be angry with me."

"I was angry at you, and I took it out on Tris." Eric replies and he doesn't miss the sharp look Tori shoots at him. "Not like that, I was emotional and I yelled at her, and it was bad enough that she left our apartment in tears. I apologized to her and we made up." He explains quickly.

"I take it that it was your first fight." Tori can tell Eric is on edge, and she is hoping to steer their conversation into a better direction.

"It's that obvious, huh? We don't fight at all, and that whole issue was my fault completely. Tris is something special. I really don't understand how I ended up with her. I was kind of a dick to her when we first were getting to know each other." Eric replies with a nervous chuckle.

"She's a determined girl. When she took her aptitude test she wouldn't think of doing anything other than coming to Dauntless." Tori remembers with a smile. She notices the scowl on Eric's face and she stops tattooing him for a moment. "Did I say something wrong?" She asks.

"There's part of me that still feels like she wouldn't be with me if she hadn't of seen what she did during her aptitude test. She's denied it multiple times, but it's still in the back of my mind." Eric speaks carefully, but Tori is impressed that he is opening up on his own. She's noticed that Eric is completely closed off when Tris isn't around, and his ability to speak more openly is great progress.

"There's no way to fake what the two of you have." Tori replies easily. "Four and I both tried to get her to leave you alone. I'm not proud of that, but it's the truth. Tris fell in love with you, and it was just as unexpected for her as it was for you. You shouldn't overthink it Eric, it's obvious to everyone who sees the two of you together that that girl is head over heels in love with you. I believe the feeling is pretty mutual too, considering this tattoo." Tori smiles at Eric and she notices the quick grin he gives her before looking away.

"I want to be worthy of her. I want Tris to be proud to be with me, instead of people constantly warning her against being involved with me. I'm going to start living my life in a way that would have made my dad proud, you too." Eric promises. Tori swallows hard before starting her tattoo gun again. She concentrates on finishing his tattoo, and both she and Eric realize that their relationship has changed forever after this conversation. They've taken the first small steps towards being a family.

Tori and Ryder managed to keep Eric busy most of the afternoon, and both were surprised that the usually reclusive leader seemed to enjoy their company. They shared more stories of George with Eric, and Tori finally decided to part with one item that George cherished more than anything – his leather jacket. When Eric put it on it was like looking at a younger version of George and Tori became emotional. She couldn't believe that she spent so many years denying this was her nephew.

"She's ok!" Eric almost shouts as he reads messages on his phone.

"What'd they say about her?" Ryder asks.

"It's as suspected, a severe concussion and the eye socket fracture. They said she will need observation, but she should make a full recovery." Eric replies with a rare smile.

"All things considered, that's the best news you could have hoped for." Ryder replies and Tori joins his side.

"That's great news." Tori adds with a smile.

"I'm gonna call Shauna, I'll be right back." Eric says as he steps into the back room of the shop.

Ryder walks over and puts his arms around his wife. "I think that today went extremely well. I'm proud of you Tor." He remarks before kissing her temple.

"He is so much like George, god Ryder how could I have been so awful towards him? How can I forgive myself for denying him for so long?" Tori asks as she rests her head on her husband's shoulder. "George would be so angry with me. He wanted nothing more than to have his son here with him, and once he finally transferred I denied him."

"You made a mistake, stop beating yourself up. Nothing is going to get accomplished unless the two of you can start looking forward. Besides, the kid was a certified shithead before he finally got a girlfriend." Ryder deadpans and Tori can't help but laugh. Even after sixteen years together, fourteen of those years being married, there's no one who can make her feel the way her husband does.

"He really was, wasn't he?" Tori chuckles before Eric returns from the back room. She notices the deep frown on his face and his angry body language. She glances over at Ryder and he shrugs before speaking.

"Eric what's wrong man?" He asks.

"Shauna doesn't want me to come back until after curfew. She said she doesn't want to chance Max finding me in Tris' room." Eric replies angrily. "Zeke has a shift at the control room, and Shauna's the only doctor in duty so she's slammed. If she wakes up alone it will terrify her."

"I'll go." Tori offers easily. "You know how much I love Tris, and she's practically my niece now." She stops speaking after realizing she may have pushed a little too far.

Eric looks at Tori. "She will be one day, officially. There's not a doubt in my mind about that."

Tori kisses her husband before grabbing her jacket. She shrugs it on and looks at Eric.

"Just keep your phone on, I'll text you. You can text me at any time too, ok?" Tori says.

"Thank you." Eric replies. Tori smiles at him and squeezes his hand before she heads out.

Eric looks over at Ryder. "I can go if you want, I've been in your hair for a couple of hours now."

"Stay, it's fine. As you can see it's dead as hell in here tonight. Relax. You want a beer?" He asks.

"No thanks. I don't drink, with the way my mom is and all...I don't want to chance getting hooked on something like she did." Eric shrugs.

"Smart. I'm not much of a drinker myself, we keep 'em here for Tori more than anything. She likes a cold beer at the end of the night. How about something else? We got lemonade and tea."

"Lemonade sounds good, thanks." Eric replies. Ryder brings out two drinks and sits down on the counter.

"So, how'd you and Tris get together?" He asks.

"Choosing day." Eric replies and Ryder's eyebrows shoot up. "Well, we didn't get together that day or anything but she got to me that day for sure. People don't talk to me, and initiates are always a bunch of terrified babies the first week or so, but not Tris. She dropped her blood on the coals, then as she's walking over to stand with us we made eye contact and she held it. She also talked to me on the train here too, she was fearless. I've never seen an Abnegation like her."

"Tori came home after her aptitude test and told me about her. Said she was the bravest person she's ever met." Ryder replies.

"She is. She never backed down from me once, even when I was a dick to her. She's amazing." Eric smiles.

"You've got it bad my friend." Ryder chuckles.

"Yeah I do." He replies.

"Now, I'm not trying to overstep, but you two are being safe right?" Ryder asks casually.

Eric can feel the heat rising to his cheeks. "She's had the shot." He replies while looking at the floor.

"Well, that's good, but is it the one that just protects against pregnancy or the one that protects against diseases too?" He asks.

"Um, I don't know." Eric shrugs. "I didn't know there were different types."

"Eric, have you been tested? I know they test the initiates, but have you gotten tested? You've been here two years, and the women here are, well... they're a bit adventurous. I know the temptation is there, so I want to be sure you're clean." Ryder says carefully. He knows Eric's had absolutely no father figure in his life, and he worries the young leader may have gotten into the free love lifestyle that is rampant in the faction. "Anything you have could be passed to Tris, and vice versa."

"I was a virgin before Tris. I'd not had any type of experience, um, not even a kiss." Eric says while blushing furiously.

"Why are you embarrassed about that? You know how many kids your age are in a tearing hurry to just lose their virginity and they have a two minute meaningless fuck to remember as their first time? You waited for a girl you loved, that's special man." Ryder replies.

Eric relaxes finally, he fully expected to be made fun of for his lack of experience or partners.

"We were each other's first kiss and first, um, well, first experience too. So as far as being clean and careful we're covered." Eric replies.

"That's good. I'm really not trying to pry." Ryder says.

"It's fine, I actually appreciate you looking out for me. Most of the people in my life have made fun of my lack of experience. The shitheads that my mom dated always made me think that it was all about getting laid. I grew up with it in my face. I didn't want to be like them at all." Eric looks down at his feet.

"There's more to life than just getting laid. Don't get me wrong, sex is great, especially with the right person. You're mature past your years man. Many adults couldn't handle the responsibilities that you have." Ryder replies.

"The only reason they made me a leader is because of Jeanine." Eric scoffs.

"Hey, enough of that shit. She may have cracked the door open, but kid you busted it wide open and then some on your own. Your work ethic is off the chart. You get rid of Max and you're going to be just fine."

"Thanks Ryder. I appreciate the talk, and you know...you looking out for me."

"If you ever want to talk about things I'm here. I know a little something about being raised by an addict. There's no judgment here." Ryder offers and Eric looks at him with furrowed brows. Ryder takes a chance and continues. "My mom died when I was six, she OD'ed on prescription pills. My dad was an addict too, but he was on heroin and he managed to evade death many times during my childhood, mostly because I kept saving him. I raised myself, and parented my dad, and the one time I didn't come right home from school he managed to pass out in the tub and drowned. I found him when I got home. Blamed myself for a long fucking time. Tori helped me a lot when she transferred here."

Eric looks at Ryder in a different light, he realizes that the two of them have more in common than he ever knew. Eric takes a deep breath and begins opening up just a little about his rough childhood.

Tori sits in the quiet room watching Tris sleep. She knows that the heavy pain medication they are giving Tris through her IV will likely keep her asleep through the night, but she promised her nephew she'd stay and she meant it. Tris is a special girl, not just because of her divergence, but because she is one of the most genuine people she's ever met. She pulls out her sketch pad and settles back in the lone recliner in the room. She's been drawing for a little over an hour when the door slowly opens and Four steps inside the room.

"Hey, what are you doing here?" Four asks quietly.

"I promised Eric I'd stay, besides she's practically family to me." Tori replies.

"You promised Eric? You two becoming friends?" Four asks curiously as he pulls a chair close to Tori.

"He's my nephew." She answers. She's not sure if Eric has shared the news, but she's not ashamed to claim him as her family.

"What?" Four asks, making no effort to hide his shock.

"He's George's son. We had a DNA test yesterday to confirm it."

"You've got to be kidding me. How did that even come up?" Four asks.

"He was told he was Eric's father, but his mother returned to drugs and alcohol and then refused to get a DNA test when George threatened to take Eric away from her. George fought for rights to Eric up until his death. When I met Eric here in Dauntless I couldn't believe there was any chance that he was George's. You saw him before Tris, he was awful." Tori replies and Four nods. "But once he said Jeanine was holding knowledge of his father against him I knew I needed to say something."

"That must be what he yelled at Tris about." Four mumbles.

"Eric mentioned he took his anger out on Tris. He felt pretty terrible about it, but they have been able to move past it." Tori replies.

"How is she?" He asks.

"No change. She's heavily medicated, so they doubt she'll wake up up before they cut back on the pain meds. They're ensuring she's comfortable." Tori replies as her text alert goes off. She reads and replies to Eric's text before turning her attention back to Four. "Where've you been hiding all evening?"

"Meeting with Max." Four replies with a smile.

"What? How? What happened?" Tori asks.

"I've been saying the right things when he digs for information about Eric and Tris. So tonight he offered me a leadership position again, with a special project on the side. He didn't go into great detail, but he alluded to the plans to overthrow Abnegation. He thinks my hatred of my father would make me an automatic ally." He smirks.

"Holy shit. What did you say?" Tori asks.

"Told him I'd sleep on it, but that was just to buy some time. I wanted to talk to you, Tris and Eric about it first. Where is Eric anyway?"

"With Ryder. Shauna told him not to come here until after curfew so he would be sure to avoid Max." Tori replies.

Four glances at the clock on the wall. "He'll be here soon then."

At exactly 11:01, an overly worried Eric walks in the room. He offers Tori a tight smile before he goes straight to Tris. He moves her hair off of her face and gently kisses her forehead. He takes a seat in the chair next to her bed and takes her hand in his before speaking quietly.

"Has she woken up at all?" He asks.

"No, she's been on heavy pain meds, but they've been cutting them back." Tori answers.

Eric turns back towards his girlfriend and presses a kiss to her hand. Her eye is extremely bruised and grotesquely swollen, but she doesn't appear to be in any pain or discomfort.

"Why are you here?" Eric growls at Four.

"Look, you've asked me to accept your relationship, well you're going to have to accept my friendship with her too." Four replies quietly. "Besides, I need to talk to you. Max offered me a leadership position tonight, with an added bonus of helping him with a special project."

"Are you serious? What happened?" Eric asks.

"He's been digging for information about you and Tris and I've made sure to give him answers to throw him off your scent. I've also been convincing enough that I'm not your biggest fan, so he wouldn't think I'd have any reason to cover for you."

"So he told you about their plans?" Eric asked with surprise evident in his tone.

"Not in so many words, but it was heavily alluded to. He thinks I'm taking the time to sleep on it, but I wanted to talk to you all first. I think it's a good idea for me to accept it." Four says.

"I agree. Having both of you on the inside would be invaluable." Tori adds.

"Yeah, I'd have to agree with that too. I take it his trust in me is waning." Eric replies.

"He thinks you are distracted by Tris. I've been trying to convince him that she's a girl with a foolish crush that you're stringing along." Four says.

"I'm sure it's really hard for you to make him believe that." Eric rolls his eyes and Four snickers.

"Look, I brought her to you after your fight. I could have really used your moment of complete idiocy to my advantage and I didn't, so as much as I like her I'm not going to do anything about it. I'm not a glutton for punishment Eric, it's obvious that the two of you are the real deal." Four replies.

"Besides, Four has a date with Casey tomorrow night." Tori smirks.

"How'd you know that?" Four asks.

"She's excited, and she needed the night off. So of course she told me." Tori replies and Four smiles.

The door to the room is cracked open and Shauna comes in. "Hey everyone." She says quietly. "I wanted to bring you these." She hands Eric several bottles of medication.

"What's all this?" He asks.

"Pain medications and anti-inflammatory medications. The instructions are on each bottle and in this paperwork as well. We've already cut her pain meds back so she should wake up at any time." She hands Eric several sheets of paper. "She will need to stick with a strict schedule with her medication. She'll need rest, and no physical training until she follows up in two days. No sex either." Shauna warns and Eric blushes. "When she wakes up she can go home. I assume she's staying with you."

"Yeah. She kind of lives with me. She tries to sneak out of the dorm once everyone's asleep and back in to the dorm before they wake up though." Eric replies.

"Whatever works for you two." Shauna shrugs. "Do you have any questions?"

"No, thanks for taking such good care of her." Eric replies and Shauna smiles.

"I'm kind of fond of the little spitfire." She replies. "I'll be around if you guys need anything." She replies before slipping out of the door.

Tris stirs a bit, her face twisting in pain. Eric gently rubs her hand and she settles down and opens her eyes.

"How long was I out?" She asks in her drowsy voice.

"Just a few hours. How are you feeling?" Eric asks.

"Sleepy. Head hurts. Can we go home? I want our bed." She replies.

Tori and Four both bid their good nights to Eric and Tris before quietly slipping out of the room. Eric helps Tris up, but in her dizzy state he ends up carrying her home instead. He helps her get changed, gives her her medicine and tucks her into bed with a kiss on her forehead.

He hears a sharp knock on his door and he hurries to answer it so the noise doesn't wake Tris up. He closes their bedroom door and heads to the living room. There is another knock and thinking it's Four or Tori he flings the front door open without bothering to check to see who was there.

"I've been trying to find you all night. Come with me, now." Max commands.


	16. Chapter 16

Eric doesn't invite Max inside, nor does he step outside of his apartment. He tries to keep his reactions even as he begins to speak.

"It's late and I'm tired, can't whatever this is about wait until morning?" He asks the older man.

"No, Jeanine needs to see us now. Max replies coldly. "She's waiting for us in Erudite, so you're coming with me."

Eric glances back toward his bedroom and sighs. There's no way he can get out of this meeting, and the thought of Tris waking up without him angers him. He turns back to his leader.

"I'll meet you at the train, I need to take care of something before we leave."

"I will wait then." Max replies while pushing his way past Eric and walking into his living room.

Eric swallows hard against his rising panic and grabs his phone. "Let's go. I can take care of what's needed via text."

The two men walk silently to the train and easily jump on. Max is checking his phone for messages as Eric frantically types out a group message to Tori and Four. He'd much rather not involve Four in anything to do with Tris, however he wants to ensure that _someone_ is there in case she needs anything. He has a quick conversation with the two, covering all of the basics for her medication and he gives them both his apartment code before turning his attention back to Max.

"Everything ok?" Max asks.

"Yeah. Just checking with Shauna about the injured initiates." Eric replies casually.

"That Lynn did a number on Uriah. I didn't expect so much out of her." Max replies.

"I heard Uriah got a broken nose out of the deal and apparently she was unscathed." Eric says.

"How about that Peter Hayes? He's a natural Eric. He reminds me of a younger version of myself. I think he will be an asset to our team." Max vocalizes his approval through the tone of his voice.

"He's certainly gotten stronger. He's a bit brutal." Eric replies vaguely.

"Brutal is good when it comes to war. I don't think he'd have the first problem killing on demand. You saw what he did to the Prior girl. It was facinating to watch how well he not only follows orders, but how he's able to carry through without questioning." Max smiles and Eric fights the urge to punch him.

"Yeah, he put on quite the show. Why'd you let him take it that far though? If Jeanine wants her so badly, do you think she will take so kindly to your allowing Tris to potentially have brain damage?" Eric asks.

Max turns his head sharply towards Eric. "How serious is her injury?"

"Severe concussion, fractured eye socket, and there is some unknown when it comes to long term affects of her head injury." Eric knows the last part is a stretch, since Shauna explained that the minuscule amount of brain swelling Tris was experiencing should go away, along with her other injuries as a result of the healing serum. He just wants to make Max squirm.

"I see, I never got back to check with Shauna after the girl's CT scan. What else did Shauna say about her?"

"That's about it." Eric shrugs. He then fills Max in on the other minor injuries from the physical fights today.

Once they've arrived at Erudite Max leads them in a different direction, heading towards the residences instead of Jeanine's office. They arrive at the door of an apartment, one that Eric recognizes as one of the seldom used long-term guest quarters and Max rings the doorbell.

The door is opened and a casually dressed Jeanine gestures for them to come inside.

"Good evening gentlemen. I was beginning to think you weren't coming back. Do come in and make yourselves at home." She points them towards a comfortably furnished living room. "Can I get you anything to drink?"

"I'll take a beer if you have it. Bring one for Eric too, please." Max replies.

"I don't want anything." Eric replies angrily. "Can we skip the pleasantries and get down to business? I'm exhausted."

Max glares at his young leader and settles back on his chair. Jeanine brings him a beer and one for herself as she perches on the arm of the chair Max is sitting in. Eric shifts, obviously uncomfortable with Max and Jeanine's familiarity and close proximity.

"Eric, Max came to me earlier with some concerns regarding your commitment to our project." Jeanine begins. "He seems to believe you and Miss Prior have become involved in something that moves past the expectations of this assignment."

"This again? For fucks sake, this could have been discussed tomorrow, or with a simple phone call even. She's an assignment, one I am successfully working on I might add. I've told you both before I needed to earn her trust, and to do so I am preying on her feelings for me. Do you want me to treat her like I do everyone else? I will, but don't expect her to have shit to do with me once I start." Eric scoffs.

Jeanine and Max share a look before Jeanine speaks. "Eric, I need you to be honest with me. Are you involved in any way with this girl?"

"Everything I do is for the assignment only." Eric lies smoothly.

"Are you sleeping with her?" Max asks.

"If that's what it will take to maintain her trust I will." Eric replies.

"You'd give her your virginity just to complete an assignment?" Jeanine presses.

"Why not? I'm eighteen years old. I'm sick of being a virgin, and if she's willing so be it. She's hot, even you have to admit that Max. You've seen the tits and ass on her." Eric internally cringes at the words he's using to describe the woman he loves. He needs to be convincing, and being crass and downright rude has come to be expected of him. "Fucking her wouldn't be a bad thing at all. Besides, if a girl from Abnegation is willing to sleep with me I'd think that pretty much guarantees she'd follow me off the edge of a fucking cliff if I asked her to. So, instead of you two constantly questioning my motives when it comes to her, you should be thanking me for being able to bring you _exactly_ who you want."

"You are awfully cocky." Max growls.

"I am when it comes to this assignment. Did you need anything else, or can I go home and get some sleep?" Eric asks arrogantly.

Jeanine narrows her eyes and studies the angry young man in front of her. "Eric, you certainly can talk a good game, and you're quite convincing that you have no feelings for this girl. However, I think your aggression when we speak ill of her is an indication that there are some sort of feelings being developed. I just need to be sure you are focused. Beatrice is the key Eric, what you don't understand is that without her cooperation we may never be able to accomplish our goals. Anyone else I could just administer a serum and force their cooperation, but someone like Beatrice needs to be convinced that what she's doing is the right thing to do."

"And you will continue to need me to do just that." Eric smirks.

Jeanine stands up and slowly walks over to where Eric is sitting. She leans over and gets uncomfortably close to his face.

" _You_ are forgetting your place young man. You are only here because of Max and me and you need to remember who is in charge here. I have been _very_ patient with you, and with your lack of results. I can guarantee that if you don't bring Beatrice Prior to me _exactly_ when and how we agreed there will be consequences. You want to know who your father is Eric, I know that about you and I can see it in your eyes. If you don't drop your cocky fucking attitude and show some goddamn respect I _will_ have him killed right in front of your smirking little face." Jeanine seethes. Eric has never seen her angry, and to be honest both her close proximity and her anger is truly intimidating.

"How do I know he isn't already dead? You dangle knowledge of him in front of me like a fucking carrot and yet I don't know his name or his face. How do I know you aren't bluffing?" Eric challenges.

Max looks at Jeanine and nods once. She closes her eyes and sighs before standing up and silently leaving the room.

"You need to stop biting the hands that feed you." Max says evenly.

"You two act like I can't survive without either of you. Do you really think I'm that weak?" Eric challenges Max.

"Your survival does depend on us, and it'd do you well to remember that. You are only worth anything to us while you are cooperative and doing as told. If you get to the point where you are no longer useful I'll be happy to end your pathetic life myself." Max growls.

"Whatever. Jeanine isn't going to allow that to happen." Eric replies.

"That's where you're wrong. You have to do what your told, and I can do whatever the fuck I want _._ " Max replies smugly.

Eric glares at Max but inside he's reeling once again. He makes a promise to himself that if he has to die in order to protect Tris he will, he'd rather give his own life than to let any more harm come to her.

Jeanine returns to the living room with a smile on her face. "On the way." She says while looking at Max. She turns her attention back to Eric. "Eric, you need to do whatever it takes to keep her trust. If you truly believe this girl has romantic feelings for you then you need to exploit them. If she requires wining and dining, you do it. If she wants a public relationship so she can show you off to all of her friends, make it happen. If she wants a physical relationship, you take care of that need. Whatever. It. Takes. Do I make myself clear?"

Eric looks at Jeanine and bites back a sarcastic comment. "Crystal." He finally says.

The sound of a key turning in the door lock breaks the silence and Eric turns to see who's coming inside. The man is tall and broad, with a stern expression. He turns to hang up his keys on a hook next to the door and Eric notices his dark hair is long and kept in a braid down his back. The man turns around and eyes the scene in front of him.

"When you asked if I would be home soon you didn't mention you were here already." He grumbles in a deep voice. "Hello Max, you can close your mouth now, I ain't a ghost." The man chuckles.

"I didn't know..." Max begins.

"Well now you do. Get to the point, why are you two using my apartment to entertain? Who's this?" He jerks his head towards Eric.

"He's the reason we're here, I'd like you to meet him. George Wu, this is Eric Coulter, he's your..." Jeanine begins before being cut off.

"My son." George finishes for her. "My boy..." He whispers. He doesn't move from where he's standing and Eric feels like he's frozen in time. "Get out." George growls.

"George, no..." Jeanine says.

"YOU HEARD ME!" George shouts. "Get the fuck out now."

Eric stands nervously, swallowing back the bile that's once again rising in his throat. He begins to follow Max and Jeanine to the door when a strong hand snakes around his forearm.

"You're staying." He commands. George turns his attention to Max and Jeanine. "You two get the fuck out and don't even think about arguing with me right now."

"George, I can explain..." Jeanine says and George moves towards her.

"Out." He spits venomously and surprisingly to Eric both Jeanine and Max retreat quietly. Once outside the door Max looks at Jeanine.

"I hope you know what you're doing." He says wearily. "I still think we should do this without Eric. He's a liability, and I don't think he's going to bring the girl to us."

"Max, Eric is more than what you think." She replies.

"Meaning?" He asks.

"Meaning he's _also_ one hundred percent divergent." She smiles.

"No, you heard the scanner, it announced he was under the threshold." Max argues.

"Because I've programmed it to do so for him only. Max, they called me during his aptitude test, they'd never seen anything like him, until Beatrice. It's unheard of to have _one_ pure divergent, but two...do you understand what we can do with the two of them? We can study them, we can breed them and study their offspring. Do you understand that Eric and Beatrice are two pure Divergents who were born of non pures. If we breed the two of them we will have the _only_ divergent of its kind. We will end up with something entirely new, a completely new genetic sequence. Imagine what we can do with their genetic makeup Max! They will far exceed anything we found with George and Amar. Let the boy fall in love with her, let them have sex and let him get her pregnant. They are doing _exactly_ what I had hoped for, naturally conceiving a whole new genetic wonder." Jeanine smiles.

"She can't get pregnant Jeanine, we inoculate all of the initiates when they arrive. She's had the pregnancy prevention serum." Max explains. Jeanine's smile just gets larger as she presses a kiss to his lips.

"You have no faith in me. She received a placebo, not a prevention serum. So if they do become sexually active and only rely on the serum for protection, she will likely conceive. It's the best possible outcome as it prevents us from having to manually impregnate her."

"You planned all this? Why didn't you tell me? I've been riding him about his relationship with her." Max seethes.

"Sweetheart, I needed you to be genuine. If you were turning a blind eye to their involvement from the get go Eric would be suspicious. Max, I love you, I only keep secrets when it's for the betterment of our plans."

"I love you too." He replies as he kisses her deeply. "You are a genius."

"Now we just continue as planned, and if Eric does cooperate with us and brings Beatrice it's great, but if he doesn't we know they're together and we capture them both. If for some reason the two of them are _not_ involved as we assume, or are not sexually active we can still impregnate her manually. No matter what, we win." Jeanine smiles.

"Why would you want a pure divergent? What does that have to do with taking over the government?" Max asks.

"This project is twofold, we need to be in control of the government in order to continue the research we've started. Abnegation views genetic testing and manipulation as illegal, and I view it as a necessity. The more Divergents that breed, the less likely we will be able to keep control of our city through our established faction system. As you can already see, two pure Divergents have been born from the unpure genes. It's only a matter of time before the Divergents outnumber us Max. I still feel the need to stop divergence, and if we find a way to _cure_ it we can stop it without losing any more of our population." She explains.

Jeanine and Max walk away, allowing the family reunion to help further their plans for Eric and Tris.

George locks his door and pulls the chains across as well. "It's not much but maybe it'll keep them the fuck away." He says in a low voice laced with anger.

Eric can feel every nerve he has vibrating in his body. George turns and looks at him.

"That's my jacket." He states evenly.

"Um, yes sir it is. Um, you can have it." Eric begins to shrug the jacket off and George stops him with a firm shake of his head.

"Jesus Christ, when you're wearing that you look just like me." He murmurs.

"Tori said the same thing." Eric almost whispers. George perks up a bit.

"So you know?" He asks.

"I just found out. Tori hadn't told me until recently." Eric answers carefully. George's face contorts in anger.

"Why?" He almost shouts, causing the young leader to jump. "Oh fuck, I'm sorry, let's sit. Want something to drink?"

"Yeah, anything as long as it's non alcoholic." Eric answers and George leaves the room and returns with two glasses of iced tea.

"Your wrist. Can I...?" Eric asks and George smiles. He turns his wrist over so Eric can see the tattoo of his name etched into the older man's skin. "It's really you." He says in awe.

"It is. I know this is a lot to take in, but I'm willing to get a DNA test to prove that I'm your father. I don't know what your mother told you, but I love you son. I always have." George says.

"Tori and I had a DNA test run yesterday, it's already been proven that you're my dad." Eric replies.

"I always knew in my heart you were mine. I never needed the test for myself, it was necessary so the court would hear my plea for custody of you. I always wanted you." The older man says.

"Tori told me what my mother did to you. I'm sorry for her."

"Her actions aren't your fault. Don't you ever make excuses or take blame for what she's done." George replies.

"How are you alive?" Eric asks.

"Jeanine." George says in a voice laced with anger. "I was her favorite lab rat for a long time. Amar too." He sighs. "She faked our deaths to get us out of Dauntless and into her lab. In exchange for my cooperation I was able to live, and to save the three people I loved the most: you, Tori and Amar." He explains. "I truly thought that once I outlived my usefulness she'd kill me but she's kept me around, and now I know it was only to manipulate you."

"Where's Amar?" Eric asks.

"At work. We both work in their control room here." He shrugs. "Its work and it keeps us both alive."

"Is it safe to talk here?" Eric implores quietly.

"Yeah, Amar and I disabled the cameras and audio in here a long time ago. Plus, he's a genius when it comes to making footage appear when asked." George replies with a smile.

"Are you working for her?" Eric asks.

"Fuck no. I just play along in order to keep the peace, and to stay alive. I've hoped for this day for a long time Eric." George's expression turns serious. "What is she doing to you?"

Eric looks at his father and contemplates coming clean, but he decides against it. He closes his mouth and looks at the floor.

"Smart boy. Don't trust anyone, not until they've proven themselves to you." George replies with a proud look. The door opens and catches by the multitude of chains.

"Love, it's me. Why do you have the chains on?" A voice calls out. George rises to undo the chains and Eric gasps when Amar enters the room.

"Eric..." Amar says with emotion evident in his voice. He crosses the room and pulls Eric up from his spot on the couch and fully embraces the younger man. Eric's aversion to physical contact is momentarily forgotten as he embraces his former trainer.

"You're alive." Eric says while holding his own emotions at bay.

"I'm so sorry I couldn't tell you. It happened so quickly, and I knew that you and Tori were in danger if I didn't cooperate." Amar replies.

George watches the two with affection, but also feels the slight pangs of jealousy. Amar has the father/son relationship with Eric that he doesn't have and while he's grateful that the two men he loves have that family bond he wishes he had it as well.

Eric and Amar stop talking and Eric looks at George. The two are almost identical with their muscular builds, athletic bodies and long dark hair. Eric's slightly almond shaped eyes are definitely traits from George while his paler complexion and lighter eye color are from his mother. George nervously steps towards Eric and before he can even ask for permission to hug his son Eric has thrown his own arms around George. The two men embrace for a long time and George can feel that Eric is crying. His own tears are flowing down his face as well.

"I never stopped fighting for you." George says quietly as his son's gentle sobs begin to subside. Eric slowly releases George and steps back, looking at the floor and blushing. "You have nothing to be ashamed of, look at me son."

Eric looks up and sees the love in his father's eyes. Amar looks over at Eric and notices something that should have been so obvious to him before.

"He's a leader. Look at the tattoos." Amar says proudly. George takes in the geometric tattoos on his son's neck and smiles widely.

"My boy. A Dauntless leader." He replies.

"Yes sir." Eric nods. "Unfortunately Jeanine pulled a lot of strings to get me there. But I've worked hard to earn it."

"You finished first?" Amar asks.

"No sir, second. Four was first." Eric scowls and Amar laughs.

"I see that competitive streak has never died." He remarks. The three return to the living room and get comfortable.

"No. We still disagree on just about everything and I think he's an obnoxious prick, but my girlfriend is trying hard to bridge the gap." Eric replies.

"Girlfriend?" George asks.

"Um, well not really." Eric is nervous to reveal too much. "She's... um... it's not like that..."

"Eric, I promise you that you can trust us. Neither of us are here on our own free will. We are here only because it protects the people we love." Amar explains.

"She told me that you are working for her." Eric replies.

"She's a habitual liar." George spits. "She told me you hated me and wanted nothing to do with me."

"Up until two days ago I didn't even know who you were to me. How could I hate someone I didn't even know? All I knew about you was what Amar shared." Eric replies.

"Why didn't you tell him?" George asks Amar.

"Tori begged me to let her be the one to tell him. She wouldn't though." Amar replies sadly.

"Someone needs to explain this to me." George says angrily.

"She didn't like me. As soon as I transferred to Dauntless people were calling me an Erudite plant, or Jeanine's lap dog. Tori thought I was willingly involved in her divergent hunt and her other bullshit. She thought that I was part of the group who caused your death, and subsequently she blamed me for Amar's death too. I didn't necessarily give anyone a reason to believe anything else. I'm not one who makes friends, and I've stayed to myself the entire two years I've been in Dauntless." Eric explains.

"Did she not think that maybe if you had someone besides that sociopath in your life you wouldn't have been so withdrawn and open to coercion?" He spits. "I cannot believe my own sister!"

"She feels terrible. She and I have made our peace. She's completely on my side..." Eric abruptly stops speaking.

"Whatever side you're speaking of, please tell me it's not for Jeanine and Max. Please son." George pleads.

"I..." Eric tries to speak but he's not sure who he can trust anymore.

"George, he's going to need time to trust us." Amar says as he places his arm tenderly around George's. George closes his eyes and takes a deep breath in.

"There are more of us here, people who are opposed to Jeanine's war plans. We meet in an abandoned building right on the border between Erudite and Amity. Eric, I am trusting _you_ by telling you this, because this group isn't just Erudite, it's from multiple factions plus factionless. If you want in meet us there tomorrow night right before midnight. Here are the coordinates." George passes Eric a piece of paper. "We have several Dauntless already involved too. I can't tell you who they are yet, because of the same reasons you're hesitant to show your own hand, but they will also be there tomorrow evening."

"What if this is some sort of ambush?" Eric asks.

"Son, you have every right to wonder that, but believe me when I say this. I love you, and I spent my entire life trying to be a part of yours. I am putting myself, and everyone involved with me in danger by exposing ourselves to you. I trust you, and I hope to see you tomorrow night." George replies.

"If I do come can I bring someone with me?" Eric asks.

"Of course you can. I'd love if you could bring my sister, you have no idea how much I miss her." George says.

"She misses you too." Eric replies.

"Perhaps you could bring your girlfriend too Eric. We'd love to meet her." Amar adds.

"She's hurt. She was injured in a fight that was turned brutal today." Eric says before thinking. He mentally chastises himself for his slip up.

"How badly was she injured?" Amar asks. He gently places his hand on Eric's arm. He can see how troubled his former initiate is over his girlfriend's injuries.

"She has a severe concussion and a fractured eye socket. I'd just gotten her home from the infirmary when Max showed up and forced me to come here tonight." Eric answers reluctantly.

"Max forced you here knowing you didn't want to leave her side?" George asks.

"He had no idea she was with me. He's testing my loyalty. He thinks she's more to me than what I let on, and he's right, but it's dangerous for me to admit that to him or Jeanine." Eric replies.

"Eric, is this _the_ girl? The one Jeanine is obsessed with capturing?" George asks. Eric jerks his head towards his father and narrows his eyes.

"What do you know?" Eric asks angrily.

"Only what Jeanine has talked about. There's a Dauntless initiate who she believes is an anomaly, a girl who has tested positively for all five factions. Jeanine desperately wants her in her custody so she can use her for testing. Eric, is this the girl?" George replies.

Eric doesn't answer, but Amar knows the boy well enough to know that this girl is important to him.

"Eric, do you realize the danger you are in? You are a leader and the girl is an initiate. Not only that, she's at the center of a war that Jeanine is going to be waging." Amar says quietly.

"I know all of this, it doesn't change the fact that I'm in love with her. She's the _only_ person in my life who's ever given a damn about me." Eric darts his eyes to George, but the older man holds no malice towards his son. "I don't care about the danger I'm in, I care about her and if I have to lay down my own life to save hers then so be it."

"Like father, like son." Amar says softly and George squeezes his hand.

"We will help you to protect her. You have our word." George says.

"Thank you. I can't let anything happen to her. Especially not after today. We had the initiates fighting as part of their physical training. Tris was paired with another transfer named Peter, he's already tried to hurt her outside of training but Max doesn't give a fuck. Anyway, Max came in to observe the fights and he goaded Peter into beating her until she was unconscious. I let it happen." Eric looks at the floor and Amar immediately speaks.

"You had no other choice. To react in any way would have endangered you both." Amar says resolutely. "Eric, we need you with us tomorrow night. It's important for you to see who's on your side."

"I'll think about it." Eric replies simply and Amar and George both nod.

"Now, when you see Jeanine again our stories have to match. She needs to believe we are all firmly on her side." George says.

Eric, George and Amar spend some time perfecting their story for Jeanine, and then take some more time to get to know each other better. Amar shares more stories of Eric's initiation with George, and the father and son share their own painful memories of the struggle between George, Shannon and Eric. They are interrupted by loud knocking and George reluctantly answers his door.

"I apologize for interrupting the family reunion, but it's quite late and Eric is expected to be training his initiates in just a few hours. I assure you we can arrange more time together, as long as everything is in order." Jeanine announces.

"Everything is in perfect order." George easily replies. "Jeanine, we are so grateful to you for bringing us together."

Jeanine smiles and nods. "I'm glad to oblige, and I'm pleased to hear we're all on the same page. Eric, please say your farewells for now." She waits impatiently by the door as Eric hugs Amar and then George.

"Goodnight." Eric says tightly and he reluctantly follows Jeanine out into the dimly lit corridors.

"I trust we are finally on the same page." She says bluntly.

"Yes ma'am. You've given me everything I could possibly need. Thank you." Eric almost chokes on the lies he spits, but Jeanine loves everything she hears.

"Max is otherwise engaged this evening. I trust you can find your way home." She implores.

"Yes ma'am. I'll see you soon." He replies.

The train ride back to Dauntless seems to take forever, and Eric's texts to both Tori and Four are going unanswered. He finally makes it home and opens his apartment door to find Four passed out on his couch. He nudges the other man until he wakes abruptly and blinks a few times to let his eyes adjust to the dim light.

"She's fine, sleeping. Tori was exhausted so I sent her home. She had some pain meds about three hours ago, so she will be needing them again soon." Four says.

"Thank you for staying." Eric answers.

"It was no problem. She's missed you tonight though, she's asked for you every time she's been awake. I think she was worried even though Tori and I both tried to keep her calm."

"Fucking Jeanine." Eric growls.

"What happened tonight?" He asks.

"So fucking much." Eric begins but he hears Tris whimpering his name and he and Four both rush to her side.

"You're home." She says.

"Of course I am." He carefully sits on the bed next to her and she lays her head gingerly on his lap. He gently plays with her hair.

"What happened?" She asks.

"Baby, do you want your pain medication first?" Eric asks.

"No, it'll make me sleep and I want to know what happened."

Eric gestures for Four to sit and he does so on the other side of the bed, careful to not jostle Tris.

"My father is alive, as is Amar."

"What? How?" Four exclaims and Tris turns to look at Eric.

Eric explains everything to both Four and Tris. Neither interrupt him, even though they both have many questions. Once he's finally explained the meeting tomorrow evening Four finally speaks.

"I think we can trust them. I don't know George, but we both know Amar. If he's a part of this we know it's legit." Four says. "Plus, George is your dad, who from what Tori told me tonight spent his whole life fighting your mom for you. A man doesn't take things that far just to fuck his kid over the first chance he gets."

"He's right." Tris agrees with Four. Eric notices her left eye is finally open and the swelling has gone down greatly. He gently caresses her face.

"This looks better." He says quietly.

"They took good care of me baby." She replies as she brings her hand to his.

"Thank you." He says to Four.

Four nods once. "I'm going to go. Tris is excused from training tomorrow, and you should stay here with her. I'll text you if I need you." Four says before rising and leaving the room. They hear the front door close and the lock engage once Four has entered the code. Eric continues to idly play with Tris' hair.

"Are you ok?" She asks.

"Yeah, I actually am. He genuinely seems to love me Tris." Eric replies. Tris notices he seems serene.

"Why wouldn't he love you? You're something special. My club isn't so exclusive anymore."

"I love you Tris." Eric says before bringing their entwined hands to his lips.

"I love you too. Can we take a shower? I feel disgusting." She asks.

"Sure. But you have to tell me if you start to feel lightheaded or dizzy." He warns.

He helps her stand and leads her to the shower. He helps her to undress as the water warms and he quickly sheds his own clothes before leading them both into the shower. He carefully washes her, and after several minutes he notices she's wobbly on her feet. He lowers her to the bench and adjusts the shower heads so the warm water is washing over her.

"Thank you." She says softly as she looks up at him. She finally notices the bandage on his chest. "Baby, what happened?" She asks fully concerned.

Eric squats down in front of her and smiles at her. He peels the bandage away slowly and Tris' eyes widen.

"Oh my gosh. Is that real?" She asks.

"Of course it is. I love you with everything I have, and you truly are my heart. I wanted something that signified that and my commitment to you." He says quietly.

"Eric, it's beautiful. Thank you. Oh my goodness. I love you so much." She says as she leans forward to give him a chaste kiss. He can tell she's dizzy so he holds her against him as he quickly scrubs his own body. He then gently washes her hair for her as she sighs against him.

"Baby, I know you're tired but I need you to stay awake just a little bit longer." He pleads as he turns the shower off and begins drying Tris. Her grogginess is impeding her movements, so he wraps the towel around her and carefully scoops her in his arms. He lays her down in their bed and brings her a dose of all of her medications. She gratefully takes the pills and hands the glass back to him. He finishes drying off and doesn't bother with clothes as he joins Tris in bed.

He carefully spoons Tris and she twines their fingers together while he squeezes his arms around her gently. She's asleep within minutes and Eric follows shortly behind.


	17. Chapter 17

Eric has spent the morning in bed, only rising to fetch cereal, drinks and Tris' medication. Tris sleeps comfortably nestled up to his side while he and Tori spent some time texting each other to make arrangements for an emergency meeting at the Tattoo shop after dinner tonight.

He has asked Tori to come over, and he's patiently waiting for her to let herself in. He's yet to tell her about his meeting with his father, and it is a conversation he knows needs to happen in person. He hears his front door gently open and close and soon his aunt has popped her head inside the bedroom.

"Hey, sorry it took me so long, I had to get Veronica to come in to cover me. We had an influx of tattoos scheduled this morning." She whispers.

Tori looks at Tris and notices her facial swelling is almost gone. She still sports a bruise under her eye, but the grotesque swelling she had before is nonexistent. "She looks much better." She comments to Eric.

Eric nods. "The healing serum has made her injuries almost non existent and the anti-inflammatory meds are doing wonders. For as much as I fucking hate our home faction right now, their development in medicine is amazing." He watches as Tori nods along with him. "She'll be awake any time, her pain meds were actually due about an hour and a half ago." He whispers.

Tori sits on the side of the bed nearest Tris and gently caresses the girl's arm. "It's good that she's sleeping without the medication." She whispers.

"Yeah Shauna said the same thing. Tori, there's something I need to talk to you about." Eric says quietly.

Tori instantly worries, it's not like Eric to call her over to confide in her. Plus he was very cryptic when he asked her to help arrange an emergency meeting in the tattoo shop tonight as well.

"OK." She says quietly. She notices Tris stirring. She opens her eyes and looks up at Eric.

"Hey." She rasps.

"Hey love. How are you feeling?" Eric asks as he presses a kiss to their entwined hands.

"Not nearly as bad as last night." Tris turns slightly and sees Tori. "Hey." She smiles.

"Hello to you too. How's our little prizefighter today?" Tori asks.

"Almost ready for my next match." Tris grins.

"Not hardly. You're done with physical training. When you go back to training it'll be mental again." Eric remarks with a smirk.

"Whatever." Tris scoffs playfully.

"Do you need your pain meds baby?" Eric asks.

"No, I'm ok for now. Can we go into the living room though? I'm tired of lying down." She asks and Eric immediately jumps to help her.

Tori can't help but be proud of Eric. He's taking extremely good care of Tris, and Tori's noticed that he's been patient and kind with her throughout her recovery. She stands to help Tris up, and Eric walks hand in hand with Tris down the hallway and into the living room. She immediately sits on the loveseat, and Eric joins her after bringing her some ice water and her blanket.

Once everyone is seated and Tris and Eric are snuggled against each other she notices the nervousness from the young couple.

"What's wrong?" Tori asks.

Eric checks his phone and glances at Tris. Tori is confused at their interactions, and she's further puzzled when her husband walks in through the apartment door.

"Sorry I'm late, had to wait for Casey to get in." Ryder says. He quickly kisses the top of Tris' head. "You are a sight for sore eyes. You scared the hell out of this one." He gestures to Eric as he shakes the younger man's hand.

He plops next to Tori on the couch and kisses her quickly. "Hey babe." He grins at her. He turns his attention back to Eric. "So nephew, what's the family meeting being called for? You two announcing your engagement or something?" He grins as both Tris and Eric blush.

"I believe there's a tattoo I may need to get first." Tris grins and Eric smiles at his girlfriend.

"You showed her." Tori says with a smile.

"Yeah, she saw it when we were in the shower last night..." Eric notices Tori's mouth drop open. "Oh shit... not like that...we were just showering..." Eric turns beet red and Tris giggles at him before kissing his cheek.

"Hey, you're teenagers in love, like taking a shower together is a huge surprise. Hell, when your aunt and I were your age..."

"Ryder!" Tori exclaims. "You will not continue that sentence!"

"Oh come on Tor, George was sixteen when Eric was born. I'm pretty sure that chastity doesn't necessarily run in the family. They're in a committed relationship, you know that means they've taken things to the next level." Ryder says.

"It really was just a shower. Besides, I'm injured." Tris replies with her own blush.

"Just be safe, that's all we ask." Tori says.

"I'll tell you just like I told him, it's something to be proud of that your first experience was with someone you love." Ryder says to Tris.

"Yes it is." Tris smiles shyly.

"Hey, we are family and someone has to look out for you two. I'd rather you two be embarrassed than to be parents before you're ready." Ryder explains.

"Ok, I'm sure these kids don't want their aunt and uncle lecturing them about their sex life, so let's get on with the real reason you asked us here Eric." Tori says with a smile.

Eric takes a deep breath. "I'm just going to say it. I met my father last night. He and Amar are alive and living in Erudite."

Ryder's grip on Tori tightens and he pulls her close against his body as she begins to cry softly.

"How? Why?" Tori asks through her tears.

"Jeanine wanted them for testing so she arranged their fake deaths. She's held us over their head in exchange for their cooperation. She threatened to kill both of us." Eric says to Tori.

"Are they working for her?" She asks.

"No. They actually have a group consisting of members from all factions and some factionless who they are working with to stop the war. They've given me the coordinates of the building they gather at and asked that we meet them there at midnight tonight." Eric replies.

"We're going." Tori says.

"Yes, we are. I needed the meeting tonight after training to discuss this with the rest of the team." Eric replies.

"I want to go too." Tris says. Eric takes a deep breath and purses his lips. "Eric, this isn't open for debate. I'm going if you are going."

"Tris, you are recovering from injuries." Ryder argues.

"Which I feel pretty good all things considering." Tris pleads.

"Ok, we will check with Shauna, but if she doesn't think it's a good idea then we'd not risk it." Eric replies evenly.

"Fine." Tris huffs and Eric has a feeling this conversation is far from over.

"Eric, how is George? How did the meeting go? What is he like now?" Tori asks.

"Um, he seems really good, I mean as good as you can be living under Jeanine's thumb. They have an apartment, and he and Amar seem good together. Um, well he seemed really happy to meet me, it was good Tori. I'm already looking forward to seeing him again." Eric replies with a smile.

"Are you sure it was him?" Ryder asks skeptically.

"Yeah. He has the tattoo of my name that Tori told me about. I've also seen pictures of him that Amar had showed me in the past. It's definitely him." Eric replies. "Plus I would know Amar anywhere. He was like a father to me during my initiation."

"I can't wait to see them. This is all so surreal. I can't believe they're alive." Tori replies as she shakes her head.

"They both want to see you too. My dad especially." Eric replies.

Tori can't help but smile hearing Eric refer to George as his dad. Ryder picks up on it too and gives Tori's hand a tight squeeze.

"They want to meet you too. They know who you are." Eric says softly. Tris looks over at him in shock.

"How did they know who I am?" Tris asks.

"Jeanine. She's made it clear that she wants you. She called you an anomaly." Eric replies as he grazes his fingers across her cheek. "I will not let her get to you, I promise you. They won't let her near you either Tris." He kisses her lips softly.

"So she's got others looking for me? It's not just you?" She asks.

"She's made others aware of your importance. I'm the only one she has assigned to you. She can't force you by her mind controlling serums, so it's imperative that I convince you that whatever it is she wants you to do is something important and make you believe it is something you want to do. That's where the whole trust thing comes in. She believes that I can make you trust me, and that that bond will be enough to ensure your cooperation. She's told me to do whatever it takes." Eric explains.

"Unreal." Ryder replies as he's shaking his head. "They act like divergence is some sort of disease that needs a cure. Who the fuck cares what an aptitude test says. You are you who are. Tris is the top initiate right now, she's showing her loyalty to the faction she chose. Jeanine is delusional."

"She's more than delusional, she's a fucking criminal. I can't wait to see her pay for all of her sins." Tori says angrily.

"Me too." Eric nods in agreement.

"We really should get back to the shop, especially if we want to have everyone out by dinner." Ryder says as he and Tori stand up.

Tris stands up without help and Tori gives her a hug. "It's good to see you up and moving. Just be careful, and please listen to whatever Shauna recommends, ok?"

"I will." Tris squeezes Tori before stepping away.

As Ryder pulls Tris in for a hug, Tori is stunned when Eric reaches for her. She quickly reciprocates his hug, and the two hold on to each other for a few seconds longer while Ryder and Tris look on. Tori and Eric break their hug and everyone exchanges goodbyes.

"Shauna's at the infirmary now, can we go?" Tris asks. Eric nods and the two get dressed and head out.

Eric holds Tris' hand the entire way, not caring if anyone sees them. When they pass through a more populated area, Tris tries to pull away and his grip tightens.

"Eric, people can see..." She argues.

"I don't care. There are already rumors, and Max and Jeanine have flat out told me to do whatever it takes to earn your trust. In their eyes, I'm fulfilling my assignment. I'm not hiding this anymore." Eric explains. "After the infirmary, we're getting the rest of your stuff from the dorm."

"You're moving me in now?" Tris asks without attempting to mask her surprise.

"Yeah, I'm serious Tris, I'm done hiding. I don't care what anyone thinks about us. If they have a fucking problem I'll be sure to solve it for them." He replies.

"Eric, I think we should talk about this…" Tris begins but the dark look on Eric's face stops her from saying more.

"I thought we had already talked about this." His tone is low and even, and Tris recognizes it as the one he usually reserves for training. She doesn't know what's brought this dark mood out in Eric, but she decides now is not the time to talk about her concerns, and she offers a quick smile as they continue on towards the infirmary.

Once they reach the infirmary they are led into an exam room where they patiently wait for Shauna. Tris plays with Eric's hair in an effort to relax him and his tight grip on Tris' hand loosens. She leans her head on his shoulder while he presses the occasional kiss to the top of her head.

"Are you ok?" Tris asks quietly. She feels Eric take a deep breath and let it out slowly.

"I'm trying to be." He answers. Before he can say anything else, they are interrupted by the door opening.

"Hey you two, what brings you by?" Shauna asks as she walks into the room.

"I just wanted to get a checkup. I'm feeling much better, so I'm hoping to be cleared for physical activity. No fighting of course, but training. Running, being able to ride the train, stuff like that." Tris explains.

"Ok, I can do that." Shauna replies as she puts gloves on.

An older nurse comes in to bring Shauna some paperwork and she immediately focuses on Eric and Tris' joined hands and public affection. Shauna clears her throat and gives Eric a look, and he simply shakes his head and squeezes Tris' hand. Shauna thanks the nurse and she exits the room.

"If you're still trying to keep this quiet it's not a good idea to let Diana see you two like that. She's quite the gossip. Her wife is almost as bad too." Shauna warns.

"Max and Jeanine gave me instructions to earn her trust by whatever means necessary, so I'm done hiding our relationship. They can continue to think I am playing her, and I get to be with my girlfriend with me as much as I want. Fuck them." Eric replies.

"Well ok then." Shauna smiles. "Tris, sorry in advance for the bright light, I just need to check your eyes."

Shauna gives Tris a thorough exam and she seems pleased with her findings.

"You're reacting extremely well to the healing serums and the pills I prescribed. Your swelling is almost nonexistent; your eye is reactive and healing well. Have you had headaches, dizziness, or nausea?" Shauna asks.

"No headaches, I got dizzy in the shower last night but I had taken a lot of medication on an empty stomach." Tris replies.

"She was also really tired when she decided to shower, so that could have attributed to her dizziness too." Eric offers. Tris smiles at him, thankful he's supporting her instead of fighting her.

"Based on what I see from examining you, and from what you've told me I'm comfortable releasing you for limited physical training. Absolutely no fighting though, I mean that. I'm fine with all other activity." Shauna says with a smirk and she notices Tris slightly blush.

"Great, that's what we wanted to hear. Thank you Shauna." Tris replies.

"Yeah, thanks for everything." Eric adds.

"You're both welcome. See you tonight." She whispers the last part before walking the young couple out of the room.

Tris notices they are not heading back to the apartment, instead he's leading her to the cafeteria. "Eric, what are we doing?"

"Lunch." He replies simply. Tris catches the determined look on his face, but she says nothing.

Once they've entered the cafeteria, Eric and Tris immediately notice the stares and whispers at their entwined hands and Eric simply pulls her closer and keeps walking. Once they get closer to where their friends are sitting, the initiates openly gape at the couple.

"Are you insane?" Four hisses at Eric as soon as he sits down.

"No, I'm just sick of hiding this. I was given free rein to do whatever it takes to earn her trust. So, they think I'm working on my assignment, and I get to finally stop hiding my relationship." Eric whispers.

"What about Peter? Eric, be smart. You're putting a huge target right on her by taking this public." Four replies.

"Max is talking to Peter tonight; he's going to be asked to join the project. Once he understands how important Tris is to Jeanine, he's going to leave her alone. If he has anything to say before that meeting he can deal with me." Eric explains.

"Four, its fine, he wouldn't do anything to put me in danger." Tris whispers and Christina nods.

"She's right, he's not going to risk her getting hurt just to be able to hold her hand in public. Everyone just chill out, act surprised and then be supportive. We all need to appear to be as normal as possible about this little discovery." Christina says quietly.

"I'm going to get our food." Eric says before kissing Tris' cheek and walking away. Tris blushes at all the stares she's getting.

"Relax, breathe, everything's ok Tris." Chris says. "You knew this would happen when the two of you went public. He doesn't exactly have a fan base out there to start with, and you're an initiate who's with a leader. It's going to be the talk of the faction until they get distracted by something else. It will be fine; don't let them get to you."

"He didn't even talk to me about doing this. He just decided. I don't know what's gotten in to him at all." Tris replies quietly.

"He's under a lot of pressure and maybe this is his way of feeling like he has something to hold on to. Are you mad at him for doing this?" Christina asks.

Tris notices Four is paying close attention to their conversation and she scowls at him. "Four, if you're going to listen to what we're talking about you can at least be polite enough to actually join the conversation." She huffs.

"He didn't talk to you about this before doing it?" Four asks.

"No. He just appears to have made up his mind and acted on it." Tris replies. "Jeanine did do a number on him last night though, so if this is what he needed I won't argue with it."

"That's not healthy. You can't just let him do whatever he wants in your relationship and then make excuses for it. Going public is a big deal at this point and he should have talked to you about it before springing it on you out of nowhere." Four says.

Tris glares at Four. "You know what happened last night." She hisses. Christina glances at the two, but doesn't pry into what they are talking about. She assumes whatever happened will be discussed in the emergency meeting tonight after dinner.

"You need to stop making excuses for him." Four replies.

"You told me you would give him a chance." Tris retorts.

"I am, but it doesn't mean he gets a free pass to walk all over you. Let me guess, he's going to move you in now too?" Four asks.

"Stop." Tris warns.

"He is isn't he? Jesus Christ Tris, you need to stop him from going overboard with this. They may have told him to do whatever it takes, but do you really think they are just going to turn a blind eye to the two of you playing house?" He asks.

"I trust him." She replies and Four can tell by her tone and expression that the subject is closed. He sighs and returns to his meal and Tris turns her attention back to Christina just as Will sits down with their trays.

"So, I heard people in the lunch line talking about you and Eric. This is public now?" He asks quietly.

"Yes." Tris offers no additional explanation and she sees the look Will and Christina exchange.

Eric drops in the seat next to her with their food. "Sorry, they were busy." He explains.

He reaches for Tris' hand and he notices that she seems uncomfortable. It's subtle, so it may go unnoticed by anyone else, but to Eric it's obvious. He squeezes her hand but she doesn't reciprocate.

"What's wrong?" He whispers in her ear and she gestures her head to the table where most senior leadership typically sits. Eric is shocked to see Max walk towards the table with two Erudite in tow, one being Jeanine and the other a younger man he's never seen. The three sit down and begin eating their meals.

"Baby, it's fine, they both view this as an assignment." Eric whispers back. He makes eye contact with Max. Instead of the anger that Max has typically been exhibiting when dealing with Tris and Eric, he shoots a fleeting smile and quick head nod to Eric. Jeanine smiles broadly.

"Did you see that?" Tris whispers.

"Yes. I told you they'd given me free rein. You know that I want this, right? This isn't for their benefit." Eric says quietly to Tris, but he hears Four scoff from her other side.

"What is your issue now Four?" Eric says in an even voice.

"I just find it very interesting that you are so adamant that you want to go public, and that you are ready to face the consequences of it, but I find out you never bothered to ask your girlfriend if she was." Four replies. All conversations at the table quiet and Tris looks at Four in horror.

"You told him that? Why didn't you talk to me about it?" Eric asks Tris.

"He's taken that comment out of context." Tris says and Eric's eyes widen. "Eric, we can talk about this later."

"Why not talk about it now? Apparently I am the only one at the table who wasn't privy to the original conversation. Why don't you fill me in?" Eric asks angrily.

"Stop this." Tris whispers to him. "We don't need to get into a fight in front of them. Please calm down and we will talk about it after lunch. Please Eric."

"Yeah, you don't want Jeanine to see you fail with your assignment, do you Eric?" Four sneers.

"Enough!" Tris shouts at Four. Her outburst draws the attention from many in the cafeteria, and soon almost all eyes are on their table, including the prying eyes of the leadership table.

"Awkward….." Chris drawls.

"They are watching you three. Get yourselves together." Will warns.

Tris leans closer to Eric and whispers in his ear. "The other Erudite is my brother Caleb."

Eric immediately understands her reaction, and they both realize that her brother appears to be working with Jeanine, and it's quite possibly he's doing it of his own free will.

"I love you." Eric says quietly, but the others at the table overhear it. Christina smiles at Tris, but she notices Four shaking his head in disgust.

"I love you too." Tris replies. She leans in and kisses him briefly and for at least right now their argument is forgotten. Eric turns slightly to look at the leaders table and is yet again surprised by the genuinely pleased looks on Jeanine and Max's faces. Tris' brother Caleb sits expressionless and Eric silently contemplates what that could mean.

The conversations resume around them and Tris settles against Eric's side as they continue eating. She's lost in her own thoughts until she hears Four discussing this afternoon's training.

"Wait, physical training is done?" Tris asks.

"Yeah, back to mental from here on out." Four replies.

"I've been cleared to return to training as long as it's not fighting. I can come back this afternoon." Tris smiles. Eric takes a deep breath and nods his head in agreement.

"I can help with the sims." Eric offers.

" _Of_ _course_ you will." Four replies without looking at Eric. He stands up with his tray and quickly makes his way out of the cafeteria. Will looks over at Eric.

"What's his problem?" He asks.

"He's in love with my girlfriend." Eric replies.

"What?" Will asks with his face twisted in confusion.

"Eric, enough." Tris warns.

"We're going to take a walk before training, see you both there." Chris says, sensing the growing tension between Tris and Eric. She and Will move to leave and she shoots a sympathetic look at Tris before walking away.

Eric wastes no time before turning towards Tris to speak. "You're pissed that I took us public?" He asks in an accusatory tone.

"I'm not mad, but I'm a little upset that you didn't talk to me about how I felt about taking our relationship public. You just did it without any warning. That's twice now that you've done that." Tris answers carefully.

"Are you embarrassed to be seen with me Tris?" Eric asks quietly.

"Oh, Eric no, I would never be embarrassed to be with you. I love you, and I'm proud to be by your side. I'm just nervous; it just puts us under the microscope even more." Tris replies.

"I'm not going to let anyone hurt you." Eric says and he squeezes their entwined hands.

"I can take care of myself." Tris huffs and immediately regrets her tone. "Sorry, I don't mean to snap at you. I think we're both under a lot of stress right now. Let's not allow the situation we're in, or the people we're forced to work with cause us to fight."

"You mean Four specifically, right?" Eric asks.

"He's certainly an issue." Tris replies. "I don't condone his behavior at all; he's purposely pushing your buttons and saying things to get a rise out of you. I will talk to him about it, but in the meantime I need you to try to ignore him."

"Ignore the guy who's trying to ruin my relationship. That shouldn't be hard at all." Eric replies sarcastically.

"He will only succeed if you allow him to." Tris retorts.

"Oh, so there's a chance he'll succeed then? If I just allow him to worm his way in…"

"Stop it right now. Eric, listen to yourself. I've already agreed with you that he's being an ass, and that his behavior towards you is not only uncalled for but disrespectful as well. There is absolutely no chance of Four and I being together, what I meant is he will succeed in tearing us apart if we let him. I am not going to continue arguing with you about him. I love you, and only you, but your lack of faith in our relationship is pushing me away." Tris stops speaking abruptly. She doesn't necessarily regret her words, but she knows that Eric is a sensitive person in general and with him being on edge she is concerned.

Eric tugs his hand away from Tris and stalks off angrily. She takes a deep breath and watches as he walks out of the cafeteria without a second look. When she glances at the leadership table she sees Jeanine and Max deep in conversation, but she also meets her brother's eyes. Caleb's hard expression is nothing she's ever seen from her brother, and he makes no effort to look away from her. Their staring is finally interrupted by Jeanine getting Caleb's attention. Tris finally gets up and leaves the cafeteria, aware of the way Jeanine's eyes follow her every movement.

She makes her way to the waiting area for the fear sims and realizes all conversation seems to stop when she walks in. She notices the Dauntless born have yet to join them this afternoon. Christina gestures for her to come and join her and Will and she gratefully makes her way over to them.

"Everything ok?" Chris whispers.

"Not at all." Tris sighs.

She can feel the stares of the other initiates, and she soon hears Peter making snide comments to Drew and Molly about her. Tris glares at Peter and he soon starts speaking directly to her.

"So Stiff, you and Eric finally decided to stop sneaking around huh? Well, it's nice that your ability to sleep your way into first place is now public knowledge. I'd have never pegged a girl from Abnegation as a whore, but you certainly have changed my mind. I should have paid more attention to you in school."

"Shut up Peter." Will calls out.

"What's the matter Stiff, cat got your tongue?" Peter taunts.

"No, I just prefer not to waste my time or energy conversing with idiots." She replies without missing a beat. Christina chuckles from next to her.

"The only idiots in this room are your little friends over there who think it's perfectly acceptable for you to be dating a leader and who don't question how that may impact your rankings." Peter replies.

"Dating a leader does absolutely nothing for her rank. He has no say in anything regarding Tris, and his involvement in initiation doesn't include ranking the initiates. He simply oversees the trainers, and provides help and guidance with the initiates. So, in my view the only idiot in the room is the one who is making an assumption that the first place transfer is getting any type of special treatment. If nothing else, we're going to be even harder on her." Four says from the doorway of one of the fear sim rooms.

Peter's cheeks flush with embarrassment and he shoots an angry look at Tris.

"Tris, you're up." Four says and Tris follows him into the room.

"Thanks for that." She says as she sits in the reclined chair.

"Don't mention it. Even though I still think it was a completely idiotic move to go public, I'm not going to sit back and let you take the punishment for his mistake." Four replies.

"It's not a mistake. Jeanine and Max both looked almost happy to see the two of us together. They pretty much told him to do whatever it takes, and in their eyes he's succeeding. Can you please lay off of him? You instigating fights and arguments with him is unnecessary and distracting. What is your problem with him?" Tris asks.

"I don't think he deserves you." Four answers evenly.

"What else can he do to prove himself to you? If he and I weren't together, would you still have this much animosity towards him?" Tris challenges.

"If you two weren't together he'd be going along with Jeanine's plans. Doesn't that bother you at all? Don't you ever ask yourself if he really is on our side, or If he's just doing whatever he can to hold on to you? What if you had of stayed in Abnegation, or what if you had of come here and not given him the time of day? He is completely codependent Tris. You should really take a step back and look at your relationship the way others see it." Four explains.

Tris doesn't know whether to be hurt or angry by his words. She says nothing, opting to try to process what he's saying instead of reacting immediately. He sits on the chair with her and faces her.

"I'm not saying any of this to hurt you, and it's not because I'm jealous. I don't like Eric, I will fully own that but Tris this isn't about me trying to break the two of you up. I'm just concerned about you." He says softly.

"You are the only one who refuses to give him a fair chance. Look Tobias, I value you as a friend and I certainly respect your opinion, but this time I think you're wrong. To answer your question, yes I do wonder what would have happened to him had he and I not gotten together. He had no one but Jeanine at that point in his life, and yes he could have decided to participate in her war plans. But he also could have decided not to. We will never know. I'm not going to make myself crazy wondering what might have happened. I'm focused on what is happening now. Please, if you care about me at all, let this go. You can choose to walk away from all of this if working with him is too difficult, but if you do I think you'll regret it." Tris replies.

"What if the only reason you're with him at all is because of what you saw during your aptitude test? What if it's _me_ you're supposed to be with Tris?" He asks.

"Tobias...I..." Tris stutters. She has no idea what to say, and everything Four has said to her is jumbled in her mind.

Four regards Tris carefully and takes a few seconds to really look at the beautiful young girl in front of him. Before he can change his mind he leans forward and presses his lips to hers, and when she parts her lips in surprise he pushes his tongue to hers. She immediately pushes him away.

"What are you doing?" She exclaims.

"Not having regrets." He replies as he leans towards her again. She ducks out of the way and gets up from the chair.

"What is wrong with you? What makes you think you can do that? I'm with Eric, you know this!" Tris yells.

"I had to at least try." Four says.

"What about Casey?" Tris asks.

"We _just_ started seeing each other. It's not even exclusive or defined yet. I had to try. You may want me to apologize for it but it wouldn't be sincere. I've wanted to kiss you ever since the night on the Ferris wheel. You really feel nothing for me?" Four asks.

"Go fuck yourself." Tris huffs as she moves past Four and throws open the door causing it to slam against the wall.

Christina watches an angry Tris storm off and she looks towards her instructor. Four is standing in the doorway with an unreadable expression, and he simply calls her name to continue. Christina walks into the room, curious as to what fear Tris must have gone through to cause such an emotional reaction. Before she slips under the influence of the serum, she makes a mental note to talk to her best friend.


	18. Chapter 18

Tris leans her head against the wall of the train and tries to concentrate on the conversation Christina insists on having. Both young women are on edge, Christina because of the meeting their group is heading towards, while Tris has the added stress of her ongoing fight with Eric, and the kiss with Four.

Eric was absent during their earlier meeting in the tattoo shop due to yet another meeting with Jeanine. Tori and Ryder led the meeting, and the entire group decided to venture out tonight under the guise of a capture the flag game. It was the safest way for everyone to leave together, and no one questioned them as they made their way out of the compound and onto the train. The entire train car is buzzing with nervous energy, and loud conversations. When Will gets engrossed in a ziplining conversation with the Pedrads, and Marlene, Shauna, Lynn and Veronica distracted by a conversation with Tori and Ryder, Christina finally gets straight down to business.

"Tris, what is wrong with you? Now that you're finally public the two of you go out of your way to completely ignore each other?" She asks.

Tris just shrugs her shoulders in response. She glances across the car at Eric, but his back is to her. He stands in the open doorway with his hair blowing back. She aches to go over and wrap her arms around him, but she has no idea if he'd even want her to. They haven't spoken at all since he stormed out of the cafeteria during lunch.

"What happened?" Christina prods.

"I honestly have no idea. We sort of had a decent conversation about what happened with him and Four earlier, but when I made the comment that Four was only going to come between us if we let him it upset him and he walked away. We haven't spoken since." Tris replies.

"Wow. He's making it hard for me to keep defending him when he acts like that. Did something else happen to make him react that way?" She asks.

Tris glances around and catches Four staring at her, even though Casey is sitting right beside him holding his hand. She quickly looks away. She then moves so she is sitting directly in front of Chris and scoots as close as possible to her.

"He doesn't know this part, no one does. Four kissed me." Tris whispers. Christina's eyes widen.

"When?" She whispers.

"Earlier during training when I was in the fear sim room with him." Tris replies.

"That's why you were so upset when you left the room. Oh my god, why?" Christina asks.

"He was talking to me about his concerns about my relationship with Eric. He said Eric was codependent, and that the only reason he was going against Jeanine was because he was involved with me. He pressed me on that Christina, wondering why I wasn't bothered knowing that if it weren't for me that Eric would just be blindly going along with Jeanine." Tris answers.

"I can see some of his points." Christina says and Tris scowls at her. "I'm not saying I agree with him, so don't look at me like that. What else was said?"

"He asked me what if the only reason I am with Eric right now is because I'm trying to stop a war, and what if I'm really meant to be with him instead." Tris whispers.

"And then he just kisses you?" Christina whispers.

"Pretty much." Tris replies.

"Did you like it?" Christina asks.

"Oh my god, really Chris? What do you think?" Tris whispers.

"I don't know. You have a boyfriend who may or may not have been a murderer if you hadn't of shown him interest, and that is obviously weighing on you now. Then you have Four, who while he may be just as intense and intimidating as Eric it's obvious that he has a really good moral compass. Plus, I've heard he was from Abnegation too, so you two being the only Abnegation transfers to Dauntless that anyone can remember is a big deal too. It's understandable that you would have doubts about your relationship." Chris explains.

"I have NO doubts about my relationship at all. Why does everyone keep trying to PUT doubts in my mind, and tell me what kind of moral compass points you to relentlessly pursue someone else's girlfriend?" Tris asks angrily. Christina makes a shushing motion with her hands and Tris scowls.

"Everything ok here?" Eric asks from behind Tris, making her jump. He drops down beside her and kisses her temple.

"It is now." Tris replies. Christina frowns at Tris and then moves to join Will, Uriah and Zeke.

"I'm sorry. I feel like I keep having to say that, and I promise you I'm working on my anger issues." Eric says.

"I can respect that you sometimes need time and space to calm down, but please just tell me that's what you're going to do. When you leave me without warning it worries me." Tris replies.

"I know, and I would hate if you did that to me. I'm so used to being alone and dealing with things on my own. I promise you I'm working on it Tris. I really am sorry for being such a prick to you."

"We need to be able to talk to each other." Tris replies.

Eric leans in and kisses Tris, and neither of them care that they are in a train full of people. The guilt of what happened with Four earlier is bubbling inside of Tris and Eric senses her hesitancy.

"What's wrong?" He whispers.

"Nothing." Tris lies.

"Don't lie to me." Eric growls and then he takes a deep breath. "Let me try that again, can you please tell me the truth about what's bothering you?"

Tris looks at Eric for a moment before crashing her lips against his. They kiss each other deeply and when they break apart they sit with their foreheads pressed against each other.

"Tris…" Eric begins.

"Later, I promise." Tris says and Eric sighs.

"Will you braid my hair?" Eric asks and Tris nods with a smile.

He turns so he's sitting in front of her, in between her legs and she gathers his hair together at the nape of his neck, taking the elastic off of her wrist and securing Eric's hair into a ponytail. She then begins braiding it down his back. When she's done, she takes the elastic from Eric's wrist and secures the braid. She wraps her arms around him and he leans his back to her chest while Tris rests her chin on his shoulder. Finally, Eric is completely at ease, and she presses soft kisses to his neck.

"Can you at least tell me if it's something that's going to affect you and me? Is it something I did?" He asks quietly.

"We shouldn't talk about this here or now." Tris replies.

"Please. I can't concentrate on anything else knowing that something is bothering you." Eric replies.

"Can you promise me that you will not get angry?" She replies and he turns his head to look at her.

"You know how I feel about conversations that start this way." He replies.

"I'm serious; if necessary we will wait until we get home tonight. I don't want you to do anything foolish." She argues.

"Tris, not knowing is going to drive me crazy. Please just tell me. I won't do anything stupid." He pleads.

"Promise me Eric." She retorts.

He takes a deep breath and turns his head towards her. "I promise."

Tris tightens her arms around Eric and moves her mouth close to his ear. "Four kissed me earlier today."

Eric immediately tenses and tries to move. Tris tightens her grip around him.

"Please, I need you to stay calm. You promised me Eric. I didn't encourage it, and it won't happen again." Tris pleads.

"You're right, it won't happen again because I'm going to fucking kill him." Eric growls. "Tris, let me get up."

"No. I need you to calm down." She replies.

"Tell me exactly what happened." He commands.

"We will talk about this in full detail later, while we're alone. I will tell you I didn't want it, or encourage it and it will never happen again. You were right about his feelings for me, and I'm sorry I didn't listen to you when you warned me. Can we please talk about this later? I won't try to stop you from talking to Four after you and I talk, but please no violence." Tris whispers.

"Tris, why were you alone with him?" He asks.

"It wasn't by choice, it happened before my fear sim." She replies.

"He did this during training? While he had you pretty much locked in a room alone? I'm going to fucking kill him." Eric growls.

"Please." Tris whispers when she notices the others in the car glancing at them.

Eric lays his head back on Tris' shoulder and takes a deep breath as he settles against his girlfriend.

"You know I love you right?" Tris whispers to Eric.

"I love you too." He replies. Eric grabs Tris's hands from his waist and threads their fingers together. "I'm not mad at you, just so you know. I'm pissed at him."

"I know you are and you have every right to be. Tonight can't be about that though. We have entirely too much at stake to let these issues between the two of you interfere." Tris says and she feels Eric nod his head.

"I can let it go for now but I will be talking to him when the time is right. Thank you for telling me. If you had of kept this from me it would have really upset me." He replies.

"Thank you for keeping your promise." She whispers against his cheek. She feels him nod his head in response.

Tris places a kiss on his cheek and he turns so he can capture her lips. He kisses her tenderly, moving one of his hands to cup her cheek. "I love you so much Tris. I promise you I will continue to work on my temper." He whispers against her lips.

"I love you too. We just have to talk to each other, always. No more burying things inside, ok?" She replies quietly. Eric nods in response then kisses her gently again before pulling her into an embrace. She rests her head on his shoulder and when she looks up she finds Four's dark blue eyes on hers. He smirks at her before turning towards Casey and kissing her and Tris closes her eyes and snuggles further against her boyfriend.

Tris feels Eric running his hand up and down her back and she relaxes further into his touch. "You are everything to me Tris. I want you to know that and I want you to remember it even when I'm being a jerk." He whispers.

"You are the best thing to ever happen to me Eric Coulter." She whispers back and he leans back so he can look at her.

"One day." He says quietly with a hopeful smile.

"Yes." Tris answers simply and leans in to kiss her boyfriend. Four can put on whatever show he wants, but Tris knows that her future is with the man in her arms. Eric's tender kisses and touches continue, and the two young lovers melt into each other as the train continues to rumble down the track.

"We need to jump!" Four shouts, breaking Eric and Tris from their moment. They stand up and watch as everyone starts leaping from the train. Once everyone is on solid ground Four checks the GPS coordinates on his tablet and gestures for the group to follow him. Christina and Will linger towards the back of the group with Tris and Eric, and the two young women are engrossed in their own conversation when Will glances over at Eric.

"For what it's worth, I think we're doing the right thing. You are making sound decisions." Will says to Eric, testing the waters with the leader.

"I was once told to trust my gut feelings; however the person who told me that is a sociopath." Eric sighs.

"Jeanine?" Will asks and Eric nods. "No one here is judging you Eric. I certainly don't know your life story, nor is it any of my business, but I remember you from Erudite. You never had it easy, and no one blames you for trusting Jeanine. She's quite the enigmatic leader."

Eric looks over at the younger man and nods his head. "Indeed she is. I just wish it hadn't taken me so long to see her for what she really is. And now my involvement with Tris puts her life in danger."

"You're looking at this the wrong way. Your involvement with Tris is going to save her life. Don't get me wrong, she's a tough girl but she's no match for what Jeanine has planned. Had the two of you never gotten together she'd have no one to really protect her from Jeanine. You may have found her attractive, but that surely wouldn't have been reason enough for you to drop your trust in Jeanine." Will explains.

Eric nods, realizing that the younger man is right. Had he and Tris not gotten together, her vision could have been a reality. It would have been her and Four against everyone. He remembers seeing himself pull a gun on Tris and shoot her. He shakes his head at the thought.

Their group reaches the building and as previously agreed several go inside with weapons drawn to sweep the building. Once it's determined to be safe, the group all enters and heads down the narrow staircase to the basement. Eric knocks in the pattern he was instructed to do and the door is opened by Amar.

"You came." He says with a smile. "Please, come in."

The group follows Amar inside, and Four pauses when he sees his former instructor. The two share a hug, emotions running high with both men. Amar sees Tori standing patiently behind Four and he moves towards her. When she sees him, the two embrace each other.

"George." Tori says in a shaky voice.

"He's here, let me take you to him." Amar says as he leads the group through hallways until they reach a large and open portion of the basement. "Wait here."

Amar disappears through a doorway and Eric begins nervously fidgeting. Within seconds, the door has opened and his father walks through it.

"Tori." He murmurs, and with that one word the siblings grasp on to each other in tears. George looks over Tori's shoulder at Eric and mouths the words thank you. Eric nods in acknowledgment.

"We don't have much time. Please, follow me." George says to their group after introductions are made.

Eric follows behind his father closely and once they have entered a large room he scans the crowd of approximately one hundred or so and notices the different colors representing the factions. He sees a smattering of Dauntless black within the crowd, and he sucks in a breath when he sees Harrison and Deena, two other members of leadership, walking towards him.

"What the fuck is _he_ doing here George? Have you lost your mind? He is with Jeanine and Max!" He shouts, getting the attention of many in the room. Tris grips Eric's hand tightly, feeling the nerves pulsing through him.

" _He is my son!_ " George shouts, quieting the crowd. "For any of you who have doubts about Eric's involvement with Jeanine, he is here tonight on his own free will and he's brought a group with him who have started their own movement to stop this war. You will treat him, and his group, with the respect they deserve."

The murmurs continue through the crowd and Harrison looks at Eric with disdain. "What changed your mind?" He asks.

"I've never wanted to follow Jeanine. I just felt like I had no other choice." Eric replies.

Deena notices that Eric and Tris are holding hands. "So you've brought the girl at the center of this fucking war. You're dating her?" She asks sharply.

"She has a name, and yes I am with Tris." Eric replies angrily.

"So I see. From what I understand she is your assignment." Deena replies. Tris watches the older woman closely, and even though there is obvious anger in her eyes her posture is quite relaxed.

"She is. I've been told to do whatever it takes to earn her trust and bring her to Jeanine when the time is right." Eric admits.

"Who's to say you're not doing just that?" Harrison challenges.

"I'm saying it. I've _never_ wanted anything to do with this war or Jeanine's ridiculous divergent hunt." Eric retorts.

"He's not who any of you think he is." Tris says.

Harrison and Deena both shoot a dark glance at Tris but they say nothing else. George gets everyone's attention and introduces Eric's team to the room.

"Beatrice!" A woman shouts from the back of the group. Eric looks up and watches as a grey clad woman makes her way to them.

"Mom..." Tris croaks, breaking into tears when her mother reaches her. She gathers Tris into her arms and embraces her, soothing her with whispered words. Eric watches as Andrew Prior approaches his wife and daughter, and he is aware of the Abnegation council member's stern stare at him.

"I'm surprised to see you here Eric. I was under the distinct impression that you were solidly on Jeanine's side." Andrew says without mincing words.

"No sir, I'm not. She certainly believes that I am, but I am doing what I can to make her believe that I am working on the assignment she's given me." Eric replies with a hint of nervousness.

"What is that assignment?" Andrew asks.

"Me." Tris says as she and Natalie join them. Andrew's eyes widen when he sees his daughter grasp Eric's hand.

"Excuse me?" Andrew says.

"He was tasked with earning my trust, and when the time is right he's supposed to bring me to Jeanine." Tris replies.

Andrew turns his attention back to Eric with a look of disgust on his face. "So, my daughter is an assignment to you? How dare you?" His voice rises and soon George and Amar walk over to diffuse the situation.

"No sir, your daughter has never been an assignment to me. I intend to do whatever it takes to protect her." Eric replies resolutely. Tris squeezes their entwined hands.

"Andrew, Natalie, I'd like to formally introduce you to my son Eric Coulter. He is one of the junior leaders of Dauntless." George says. Andrew's eyes widen in surprise.

"Your son?" Andrew asks.

"Yes, my son. His mother kept him from me his entire life, but we've finally found our way to each other." George says proudly.

"It's a pleasure to meet you Eric. I take it you are also more than a leader to our daughter?" Natalie replies.

"Yes ma'am, I love Tris very much. She's everything to me." Eric replies with a blush.

"I'm glad she has someone like you to love and protect her." Natalie replies with a warm smile.

"We love and protect each other." Tris replies as she and Eric share an affectionate look. Andrew scowls at the exchange.

"We should get started." Amar says and George nods. The two head towards the front of the room and call the meeting to order.

As discussions open, George realizes that their plans to fight back against Dauntless and Jeanine may not have to be as they originally planned. Eric and Four both are in Max and Jeanine's inner circle of trust, Eric more so than anyone. He listens as their team describes their plan to stop the simulation by destroying the equipment and software as soon as all of Dauntless has made it to Abnegation. He can't help but be impressed by his son, his focus and determination to end this war before it can begin and capture Jeanine is something to be proud of.

"So you're suggesting we allow Dauntless to make it all the way to Abnegation before you all make any attempts to stop the simulation?" Andrew asks.

"Yes. Jeanine plans on having every piece of physical hardware and software associated with this program at Dauntless on the day of the attack. If we tried to destroy what she has there now, not only would we be discovered but she would also still have her back up at Erudite." Eric explains.

"Why don't you evacuate Abnegation?" A woman from Amity asks.

"We are trying to find a way to do so without bringing too much attention to ourselves. Jeanine has us under constant surveillance." Andrew replies.

"Look, I'm just going to address the elephant in the room. How is it we are supposed to trust one of the people that Harrison and Deena told us were working closely with Jeanine?" Someone from Candor asks. There are murmurs spreading throughout the room. "I get that he's your son George, but does that give him instant trustworthiness after hearing everything he's been involved with?"

"Besides, he's assigned to the Prior girl and look where that's gotten her." Someone else calls out.

"Glad to hear I'm not the only one." Four murmurs and Tris glares daggers at him.

"No one here wants to trust me, but it's only because you don't really know me. I've never wanted to work for Jeanine, and really I was only taking orders from my superior. I haven't turned any divergents in, and I've convinced them that I am working on my assignment as you call her just to keep her safe. She's not my fucking assignment, she's my girlfriend. I will do everything I can, including putting my own life on the line to protect her. If I was treating her as some sort of assignment why would I bring her here with me? Why would I expose her to all of you? Why would I bring my own group from Dauntless? Do any of you understand how dangerous it is to be double-crossing Jeanine? I'm here because it's the right thing to do, I'm here because I never believed in their cause but the main reason that I'm here is to make sure the girl I love more than anything lives through this even if I don't." Eric says.

Tris is floored by his very public confession, as Eric is not known to open up and expose his feelings to anyone. She wraps her arms around him and pulls him close to her. He quickly returns her embrace. The young couple looks around the room and notices that many in the crowd are smiling at them, including a broad smile from Natalie Prior and the faintest hint of a smile on Andrew Prior's lips.

"I think this young man is proving himself to be honorable, we should give him a chance. He's here, he's brought a team with a great plan, and he's dedicated to our cause. We all need to give him the benefit of the doubt." Amar announces and many in the room nod in agreement.

"We have less than three weeks, we need to make them count. I will see as many of you as possible this same time next week." George announces and many in the room start heading out of the building. A few even stop to shake Eric's hand, and offer words of encouragement.

Eric keeps a tight grip on Tris' hand, and Tris squeezes his every once in a while to encourage him. She realizes that Eric is far out of his normal comfort zone and she wants to offer as much support as she can. When Natalie approaches the couple, Eric's nervousness is radiating off of him.

"Eric, I want to thank you for taking such good care of my daughter. I trust that you realize the danger that she is in." Natalie says.

"Yes ma'am, I do. I won't let anything happen to her. She's the most important thing in my life." He answers honestly.

"I can see that. I trust your love for Beatrice, and I trust you Eric." She replies before embracing the younger man. Eric relaxes slightly and returns the hug gratefully. Tris smiles at the exchange.

"Thank you, Mrs. Prior. My hope is that one day your husband will be able to trust me as well." Eric replies.

"It's Natalie, and I believe Andrew will come around. Beatrice is his heart, and for a father to allow another man to love and take care of his only daughter is a great feat." Natalie replies.

Natalie hugs Tris one more time before leaving with Andrew. Tris watches her father walk away, and she is disappointed that he refused to talk to her before leaving.

"I'm sorry to be causing issues with you and your father." Eric says quietly.

"Don't be. My place is with you Eric, my life is with you." Tris replies resolutely. "If he can't understand and support that it will be his loss."

Eric presses his lips to her forehead and wraps both arms around her. Tris leans into his touch and the two hold each other for a few moments before joining the rest of their group.

"We're going to head back to Dauntless. Take your time coming back, we will text you if we need to." Christina says to Tris before giving her a quick hug. "I'm sorry about being unsupportive earlier. You two are perfect together." She whispers in Tris' ear so no one can overhear. Tris gives her best friend another tight squeeze before their group exits the building, leaving only George, Amar, Tori, Ryder, Eric and Tris behind.

Eric can see that George and Tori are deep in what appears to be an uncomfortable conversation. He and Tris walk over to Ryder's side, where he and Amar stand and observe the interactions between the siblings.

"I don't know any more than you do." Ryder remarks while watching his wife and brother in law. "My money is it's on why she never told you."

"Should I go over there?" Eric asks and Amar shakes his head.

"They need to hash this out. George has been beside himself since learning that Tori withheld the knowledge from you Eric, he needs to talk this over with her." Amar replies.

George shoots a weary look at his sister before speaking again.

"I'm still waiting for you to explain how the hell you spent the last two years denying my son Tori." George says angrily.

"I have no excuse, I keep telling you that. George, I was wrong about him. He came to Dauntless with an attitude like he was the best we'd ever see. Don't get me wrong, the kid was amazing, but his poor attitude detracted from how special he really is. He _let_ people say horrible things about him, he _let_ everyone believe he was Jeanine's pet and he did _nothing_ to try to make any friends. People hated him, and they still do. I did for a while George, and I'm not proud of it. I thought he was awful, and I refused to believe that someone like him could have come from someone as wonderful as you." Tori explains.

"So what made you finally fucking talk to him?" George seethes.

"Tris. In the two years before she transferred to Dauntless Eric talked to no one unless he absolutely had to, and almost one hundred percent of his conversations were work related. He made no friends, he didn't socialize at all, he worked and then went home or to train alone. He completely isolated himself from everyone. I tried talking to him when he'd come in for tattoos and he was stoic. He refused all personal conversation or contact. Tris changed him George. I administered her aptitude test, and I witnessed that strange vision she had of the war. She was determined to come to Dauntless and find Eric." Tori explains.

"So she came here to change the outcome? She's using Eric?" George asks angrily.

"Absolutely not. She wanted to meet him and try to understand what would make him turn against his own faction to follow Jeanine. She fell in love with him, despite me warning her every chance I could to stay away from him. I'm not proud of that George, so please don't hate me for it. He was terrible before her, he pushed everyone away and she came in and completely broke his walls down. Before Tris it would have been impossible to even attempt to tell him about you. Amar was the only other person in his life to become close to him, and when he disappeared Eric turned brutal. We all thought it was because he had killed him, and he never once tried to change anyone's mind." Tori replies.

"I don't like what I'm hearing, but I have to admit I can see your point. Tori, you have to promise me something." George replies.

"Anything."

"Promise me that if something were to happen to the girl, or to Amar or me that you will take care of my son. Don't ever turn from him again." George says.

"You have my word. I spent a long time hating Eric for reasons I now know we're completely invalid. I will never turn from him." Tori promises.

"If something happens to Tris I don't think he will be able to handle it alone." George remarks as he watches his son and girlfriend across the room.

"You're right. There are people in the faction who view him as being codependent when it comes to her." Tori replies.

"What do you think about that?" George asks.

"That they're full of shit. I will admit if anything happened to either of them neither of them would handle it well. Eric loves her, and she loves him just as much. They remind me of Ry and me when we were their age." Tori replies.

"They really are just like the two of you." George says with a smile. "Does Eric keep in touch with his mother?"

"No. There's a lot of animosity between them. Do you keep in touch with her?" Tori asks.

"She's tried talking to me several times since I've been back here, but I try to avoid her. She's usually high as a kite, and begging for money. It's truly sickening. I can't imagine what kind of mother she was to my son." He shakes his head.

"He had a terrible childhood George." Tori replies quietly.

"I hate that I left him with her. I know firsthand how bad she was when she was using. I should have gotten him away from her."

"George, you did _everything_ you possibly could. Shannon refused you and she moved him from place to place to keep him hidden from you. In spite of the hell that child went through he's come through it as a decent person. He has his flaws, but I see improvement with him every single day." Tori replies.

"Does he do any drugs? Drink?" George asks.

"No, I've never seen him under the influence of anything, and when you offer him a drink he's specific to request something non alcoholic." Tori replies.

"Did he have any type of father in his life Tori?" He asks.

"No. I think he should be the one to tell you some of the details of the men his mom cycled through. The closest thing he had to a father was Amar. Ryder's been able to get him to open up lately, they had very similar childhoods so it's like a kindred spirit." Tori replies.

"I hope it's not too late for us. He's an adult now, a leader, he's in love and he seems mature beyond his years. When he needed a father I was stuck fighting a losing battle." George sighs.

"He definitely needs you George. It doesn't matter how old he is, Eric will always need his father. He's wished for you his whole life." Tori says with a smile.

"He seems like a good kid." George laments.

"He was hard to get to know, but he really is one of the good ones. He has your aloofness and temper for sure." She smirks and George laughs.

"Poor kid." He shakes his head. "I've missed so much of his life. I have a lot to make up for." George replies.

"You have each other now. Make the most of it." She replies.

"Now, this other boy, the one you all call Four. That's the Eaton boy." He says and Tori nods. "It's quite obvious there's some bad blood between him and Eric. What do you know about it?"

"They were both in the same initiation class two years ago. They were competitive, and all throughout training Eric was in first place. Mental training got him, Four had only four fears, hence the nickname courtesy of Amar, and he moved solidly into first place with that. From what Amar told me both boys had fears stemming from their childhoods, however only one of Four's fears was of his father while Eric was plagued with fears that stemmed from his mother, her boyfriends and other things. He made it through them in a decent time, but it wasn't enough to beat Four. Plus, in their last physical fight Eric was completely distracted and Four beat him. He was the only person to ever beat Eric in a fight." Tori explains.

"What now though? Eric's a leader, why does there still seem to be so much animosity?" George asks.

"They both have feelings for Tris." Tori says simply and George nods his head.

"I should have known it was the girl. Tori, this girl, are you certain she's committed to Eric?" He asks.

"Without a doubt." Tori replies.

"Do you think he and the Eaton boy are going to be able to work together?" He asks.

"I think they are both smart enough to know they _need_ each other even though they don't necessarily _want_ each other around." She replies.

"We should get back to them. I love you Tor." George says as he embraces his sister.

"I love you too Georgie. I'm so sorry I didn't do right by Eric." She replies.

"You are now, that's what's important." He replies as he leads her back over to their waiting family.


	19. Chapter 19

Tris tries to turn over but finds Eric's heavy arm caging her in. She sleepily stretches while she blinks her eyes slowly, noticing it's only a little after five am according to the clock on their nightstand. She tries to move as gently as possible but she notices that Eric has moved his arms and he slips out of bed, sleepily trudging towards the bathroom.

She finally stretches out, spreading her arms and legs across the bed. She's startled when she feels the blankets being slowly pulled off of her naked body and she glances at the end of the bed and watches as Eric crawls slowly towards her, kissing up her long legs and her inner thighs. When he settles in between her legs, she sits up slightly.

"Eric?" She questions.

"Tris..." He whispers as his mouth moves slightly further up her inner thigh.

"What are you doing?" She asks nervously.

"Exploring." He replies softly. He pushes on her legs until she's spread open in front of him.

Eric slowly runs his finger across her clit before slipping it inside of her. He moves so his mouth is hovering over her hot center and she can feel his warm breath against the fine pelt of hair.

"You smell so sweet." He whispers as he grazes his lips against her. "Baby, can I taste you?"

Tris can feel her legs shaking nervously next to him. He peers up at her from his spot between her thighs.

"Baby?" He whispers. Tris hums in response. "Are you scared of me?"

"No. I'm just nervous." She answers quietly. "What if you don't like it... or what if I taste bad..." she trails off when she feels his warm tongue stroke against her swollen bundle."Oh my..."

"You taste so good." Eric whispers huskily and it causes Tris to shiver.

Eric slides another finger inside of her while he concentrates on her clit, licking and sucking gently while she writhes below him. Her taste and smell are intoxicating, and he has to slightly move to take the pressure off of his throbbing erection. He doesn't know exactly what he's doing, relying mostly on overheard conversations, but he can tell from the way Tris is moaning his name that he's doing something right.

"Eric...oh god...Eric...damn...baby...oh my..." She moans. Eric feels her pulsing around his fingers as she pushes her hips up against him. "Eric!" She yells as she completely falls apart, panting and whimpering.

He realizes she must be sensitive and he slowly withdraws his fingers from her soaked core, quickly sucking them into his mouth to savor her taste. He grabs a piece of discarded clothing from the floor to wipe his face with and he kisses his way up Tris' stomach, her breasts and then her neck.

"Can I?" She whispers breathily as he trails his kisses back down to her breasts and sucks gently on her nipple.

"What do you want baby?" He whispers before moving to her other breast.

"I want you... in my mouth..." She says quietly and he freezes.

"You don't have to. I didn't do that expecting you to..." He says quietly.

"I want to." She purrs and Eric's argument dies as he moves to her side and allows her to push him down to his back. She kisses him deeply before kissing down his chest.

She wraps her hand around his arousal and he moans softly at her touch as she begins stroking him. His eyes are closed and his head is back against the pillow, so he doesn't see when she runs her tongue down his shaft.

"Holy..." he moans, losing his thoughts as she trails her tongue around the head before taking him into her warm mouth.

"Fuck." He drawls.

She starts off slowly, using her hand and mouth in tandem. She glances up at him and she can see his legs are shaking in pleasure. She moves her hand further down and relaxes her throat, taking him deep inside of her mouth as she hollows her cheeks and begins to suck. She tries to remember everything Christina told her several days ago when they were the only ones left in the waiting area for sims.

"Jesus Christ baby... how...oh fuck... Tris..." he moans.

Tris continues to work her mouth up and down his shaft, taking her time to swirl her tongue around his head each time she reaches it. She can feel how tense his thighs are and she's startled when she feels his hands working roughly through her hair.

"Just like that baby..." he whispers breathily as he gently guides her head up and down. "Tris, I'm going to cum..." he tries to pull her away from him, but she stays put and feels him spurting into her mouth as he calls out her name.

She swallows each time while slowly working her mouth over his head until she's gotten every drop. She wipes her mouth with her hand before crawling up to his side. He lays next to her, breathing heavily and stretching his shaky legs.

"Is it wrong for me to tell you how much I love you right at this moment?" Eric asks. Tris laughs at him.

"Probably not the best moment but I love you too." She says and he laughs with her. "You have some funny timing with the things you say."

"Someone I love once told me eloquence evaded me." He retorts.

"It's part of your charm." She grins at him and he moves so he's hovering over her. "Already?" She giggles as she feels him rubbing against her while he lines them up and slips inside of her.

"Always with you." He says before kissing her.

Eric is far too wound up to have restraint, and his quick hard thrusts are met by Tris' hips every time.

"Baby, stop for a minute." Tris whispers.

"Did I hurt you?" He asks as he moves away from her. She sits up on her knees and kisses him.

"No. I want us to try something." She says against his lips. She turns on her knees so she's away from him, and he watches as she settles on all fours in the center of their bed.

"You want me to... um..." Eric stutters.

"Yes. Please." She peers over her shoulder at him.

He moves behind her and enters her in one stroke. "Oh god..." he moans.

"You're so deep." Tris whispers.

"Baby, fuck, Tris... damn..." Eric can't think as he pounds against her. Nothing they've tried so far feels as good as this. She is soaking wet and he slides in and out with ease. He grips her hips hard as he continues to bury himself deeper inside of her.

"Eric, I'm..." She can't get a sentence out before she's shattering around him. She sees spots in her vision as her pleasure overtakes her, causing her to slump forward on her forearms.

Eric thrusts against her erratically as he chases his own release, calling her name repeatedly while he rides out his orgasm as her walls continue to pulse around him.

He slowly pulls out of her and flops on his back, dragging her down and against him. The two can't speak; instead they try to catch their breath as their racing hearts begin to calm down.

"I know that I'm fairly inexperienced but I'm pretty confident when I say that was the best I've ever had." Tris finally says.

"I was thinking the exact same thing. That was amazing. We just get better every time." Eric breathes.

"Wanna do it again?" Tris asks with a smile and Eric immediately pulls her on top of him.

They stay lost in each other the rest of the morning, taking their time to explore each other fully before making love again. They are wrapped around each other, enjoying their afterglow when Eric's alarm goes off. He turns over to shut it off and then turns back to his girlfriend. They twine their hands together while sharing soft kisses.

"I wish we could stay like this forever." Tris says.

"Me too. Just a couple more weeks baby. You'll be a full member, the war will be over, Jeanine will pay for all of her fucking crimes and we can all be a family. My dad and Amar can come home to Dauntless, we can spend more time with Tori and Ryder, and hopefully your dad will have come around and we can visit them too." He laments.

"That sounds perfect." Tris smiles.

"Maybe sometime in the future you and I can take the next step too." Eric says carefully.

Tris looks over at him and sees the hopeful look in his eyes. "Do you ever worry that we're too young to be this serious?" She asks.

"No. I'm in love with you. We have a great relationship that can only get better as we continue to learn more about each other. We respect each other and that's a huge thing too. I feel like we are forever. Does that scare you?" Eric asks.

"You don't scare me at all. I love you, and I don't see myself with anyone else. Neither of us is trying to rush into anything, and I love that we can sit here and have serious conversations about our future. Every successful couple in our lives started early." Tris points out. "Your dad and Amar, Tori and Ryder, Zeke and Shauna, my parents, and look at Christina and Will, and Lynn and Veronica too. Happy couples, who found love and commitment at a young age."

"That's true." Eric nods. "As much as I want to stay here I have work and you have training. Are you ready for a shower?"

"Can you start the coffee pot?" Tris asks.

"Yes baby, I know you're a beast without it." He quips.

"Rawr!" Tris growls and Eric chuckles.

"Come on wild one, let's get moving." He leans over to kiss her before rolling out of bed and heading towards the kitchen.

Tris walks into the bathroom and starts the shower, grinning in happiness at their morning.

Less than an hour later they are surrounded by their friends in the cafeteria laughing at Uriah's antics. Eric has his hand entwined with Tris' and the two are for a moment able to feel like the teenagers they are.

Eric nuzzles against Tris' neck, nipping at her every once in a while causing her to giggle. When Four and Casey join their table the tension is palpable as Eric's playful mood darkens.

"We'll see you in training." Tris says as she stands up. Everyone says goodbye to her and Eric as the couple makes their way out of the cafeteria.

"We didn't have to leave." Eric says as he follows Tris to the alcove they often sneak away to.

"You went from laughing to completely tense when he got there. I didn't want to ruin your good mood." Tris replies. "Besides, I wanted to make out with my boyfriend before he tortures me with sims."

"Torture huh? You kick ass at the sims, if anything its torture for me to have to sit through all the others before I finally get to be with you." He sticks out his lower lip in a fake pout.

"Poor Eric, he has to actually fulfill his duties before getting to hang out with his awesome girlfriend." Tris whines and Eric playfully bites her ear. "I love this good mood you're in this morning."

"We've had a pretty fucking phenomenal morning, don't you think?" He asks before kissing her behind her ear.

"Mmmhmmm." She replies as she reaches down for the button on his pants. Before Eric can react, she's put her hand inside his boxers and is stroking him.

"Tris, what are you doing?" He moans quietly.

"We have fifteen minutes, make them count." She whispers. He yanks down her leggings and panties as she pushes his pants and boxers down.

Fourteen minutes later the two run down to the sim rooms with Eric slipping into the back door of his assigned room while Tris takes her place in the waiting area once again. She makes her way over to where Christina, Will, Uriah, Marlene and Lynn have gathered and she tries to ignore the scoffs and looks from Peter, Drew and Molly.

"You were cutting it close Trissy. Almost ended up being late, where did you and Eric sneak off to?" Uriah asks with a grin.

"We just talked for a few minutes and then headed here." Tris replies with a shrug.

"Is that why your pants are inside out?" Lynn snickers as she yanks on the protruding tag of Tris' leggings.

The fiery blush on Tris' cheeks gives her away and their group laughs.

"Don't worry Tris, Marlene and Uriah were just caught having the same 'talk'." Will says using air quotes.

"Shut up! You said you wouldn't tell!" Marlene scowls at Will.

"I said I wouldn't tell the instructors, not that I wouldn't tell our friends." He smirks. Marlene scowls and Uriah laughs. "You two need to find somewhere a little more private."

"Or somewhere that you and Christina haven't already christened." Uriah laughs and Marlene playfully smacks him.

"Will, you're up." Four calls from the doorway of his room. Will winks at Christina before walking into the room.

Marlene and Lynn are soon called by the Dauntless born trainers, and Eric steps out of his assigned room and calls for Drew. Eric glances quickly at Tris and even though he's masking his emotions quite well she catches his eyes. He quickly flashes a smile at her before schooling his features again.

The tension between Peter, Molly and the rest of the initiates is extremely uncomfortable, and Tris can feel Molly's eyes on her.

"So Stiff, how is fucking your way to the top working out for you?" Molly says with a smirk. They can hear the chuckles from Peter and some of the Dauntless born.

"Don't you have better things to talk about than Tris?" Uriah asks with an eye roll.

"Nope. It's not every day that an initiate gets to cheat her way to first place without repercussions." Molly replies.

"Kind of like when an intimate assaults and attempts to rape another initiate and gets away with it? Or when an initiate stabs another initiate in the eye in an attempt to get into first place?" Christina retorts angrily.

Peter flinches at her words and he nudges Molly and shakes his head. The larger girl finally sits back in her seat and shuts her mouth, but she continues to glare at Tris.

"Walk with me to the bathroom?" Christina whispers to Tris, who nods in response.

The two women make their way to the ladies room and Tris quickly removes her boots and leggings, turning them right side out before putting them back on.

"Thank you for sticking up for me." Tris says.

"Are you ok?" Christina asks.

"It's only been a little over twenty four hours since we went public. I expect this to happen." Tris says with a shrug.

"How are things with Eric? You two seemed much better this morning." Chris replies as she hops up and sits on the counter.

"We're really good. He apologized on the train last night when we were on our way to the meeting, and again on our way home. He's promised to continue to work on his anger and jealousy issues." Tris answers.

"Are you going to tell him about Four?" She asks.

"I already did. He could tell something was bothering me, and he was worried to the point where he thought the worst." Tris explains.

Christina's eyes widen. "How is Four still alive? I thought for sure Eric would have kicked his ass."

"He made me a promise that he'd calm down and only talk to him once he knew he could be rational." Tris says.

"I'll be surprised if that happens." Chris replies.

"Wow Chris, thanks for the vote of confidence." Tris scowls.

"He's not exactly the most patient person, especially when it comes to you." She explains. "All it will take is one little comment or look from Four and all bets will be off."

"I have faith in Eric." Tris sighs. "How are things with Will?" She asks.

"Not this time Trissy. I'm not letting you deflect. Did you and Eric really talk through things? I mean did you let him know his attitude isn't acceptable?"

"Yes, we talked about that. I told him I understand that sometimes he needs to walk away in order to calm himself, but he couldn't just do that without telling me. I told him it worried me and he understood Chris. He's really trying. He's been alone for a long time when you think about it, no girlfriend, no friends, and no real family, nothing." Tris explains.

"What do you think about his dad?" Christina asks.

"I think he loves Eric and wants a relationship with him. You saw him defend him last night." She replies.

Christina nods her head. "Yeah, I did, and I saw how Eric stood up for himself and for you. It was really touching. Tris, do you think that our plan is going to work?"

"I think it's a great plan and we have a lot of support. I think it will work." Tris replies with confidence.

"I'm just scared I guess. I didn't have a bad life in Candor, but it was empty compared to what I have here. I met you, and I couldn't ask for a better friend. I have Will, and I seriously think he's the one I will marry one day. We've met Uriah, Lynn and Marlene, and through them Zeke, Shauna and Veronica. Oh and Tori and Ryder are just amazing people too. I feel more like a family here with you guys than I ever did before."

"I couldn't have said that better myself. We do feel like a family, and I'm so thankful for that. I won't lie, I'm scared too Chris. If this doesn't work we will be right in the middle of a war. I don't want to lose anyone, and I don't want innocent people to get hurt or die. I wish it could be simple. Eric said the same thing not too long ago, he wishes we could just be together and happy and be living a normal life." Tris replies.

"Do you think you would have been with Eric if you hadn't of seen that war vision?" Christina asks.

"Yes. I was drawn to him the minute I started walking towards the Dauntless group on choosing day." Tris replies.

"I feel like that with Will too. The first meal we had in Dauntless, when he was spouting off the random facts and I was busting his chops about it, I just knew he and I were going to be something more." Christina smiles.

"Do you guys ever talk about the future?" Tris asks.

"Like what? Marriage, kids stuff like that?" Christina replies as Tris nods. "No. I mean, we've both said I love you and all but we're teenagers. For now we just think about getting out of initiation and through the war stuff. Sure I think he might be the one I marry someday, but that someday isn't quite in the focus yet. Do you and Eric?" She asks with raised eyebrows.

"We have, yeah. Nothing official or anything, but we've talked about a future together." Tris replies.

"Really? You two are that serious?" Christina asks.

"Yeah, we are. He's not proposed or anything, but we've talked about long term. I love him, and I know he loves me too. Did I tell you about his tattoo?"

"No...what about it? The mazes?" Christina asks.

"No, he got a new one when I got hurt. He has my name tattooed on his chest over his heart." Tris replies.

Christina's mouth drops open and she slowly breaks into a smile. "That is either the dumbest thing he's ever done, or the most freaking romantic thing ever. I'm gonna go with romantic even though his outward personality doesn't really suggest it." She laughs. "Seriously though, that's pretty real right there."

"I want to get his name tattooed on me." Tris replies shyly. She's not sure how her best friend will react.

"Let's go after training." Christina says with a smile.

"Really? You're not going to talk me out of it?" Tris grins back.

"Nope. Look, I personally may not be ready to discuss the future with Will, but you two aren't your typical teenage couple. You have goals, and you're both mature way beyond your age. If I thought you were making a mistake, I'd tell you, but Eric continues to prove me wrong every day. He's not the person I thought he was a month ago." Christina explains.

"Thank you Chris. You have no idea how much it means to me to hear you say that. Out of everyone here I trust your judgment the most. You are always honest with me, it's been ingrained in you from your Candor upbringing and I appreciate you so much." Tris replies.

Christina reaches for her friend and the two young women hug. "Just promise me I'll be your maid of honor" She giggles and Tris joins in.

"I promise."

The door opens and Lynn strides in. "Four's looking for you two." She announces. The three walk out of the bathroom to head back to training. On their way, Tris asks Lynn how her sim went.

"This time was easier. I made it through that one fear that was really kicking my ass. Only took eight minutes." Lynn replies.

"That's great Lynn. You're really going to give Uriah a run for his money." Christina grins and Lynn flashes a smile of her own.

Luckily, Tris was able to wait for Eric to administer her sim and she avoided any awkwardness with Four. When she startles awake after defeating yet another new fear, Eric is right beside her.

"That was good; you worked through it like a Dauntless would." He says as he strokes her hair.

"Why does it even matter since they already know?" Tris replies angrily. She immediately regrets her tone, but she makes no apologies.

"Because we have to keep up appearances, I'm just trying to keep you safe." He replies evenly.

"I'm sorry for snapping at you. Sometimes the reality of everything just gets to me. Plus, I hate my fears." Tris explains. Eric reaches out and tucks her hair behind her ears before pressing a kiss to her forehead.

"I hate watching them. It's almost over." He replies. "Why don't you go home and rest? I'll be home after these last few sims."

"I told Chris I'd spend some time with her after training. I'll be home afterward." Tris explains as she sits up.

"Dinner then?" Eric asks and Tris nods. "Ok good. I'll see you at home when you're done."

Tris leans in and kisses him softly. "I love you." Eric whispers against her lips and he can feel her smile.

"I love you too." She replies and after one more lingering kiss she finally leaves the room.

Christina is waiting in the back hallway for her friend and she returns Tris' smile as she walks towards her.

"You look awfully happy for just being tortured. Did someone kiss it better?" Christina says cheekily.

"Maybe..." Tris replies and the two girls giggle as they make their way to the tattoo parlor.

Tori looks up as she hears the bell over the door ring and she smiles at the two younger woman.

"Hey you two. What brings you by?" Tori asks.

"Well Tris has a tattoo she wants to get, and I'd like to get a piercing." Christina answers and Tori nods.

"Awesome. Let me get set up and I'll get Ry from the back to help. You both already know what you want?" Tori asks as she prepares her station.

"I want my belly button pierced." Christina replies.

"Me too." Tris adds and Christina's eyebrows rise in shock. "And I want a name tattooed over my heart." She smiles shyly and Tori grins at her.

"Very good. I'll be right back." Tori replies and the girls get settled in.

Ryder follows Tori out from the back, grinning when he sees who their customers are. "Who am I piercing first?" He asks.

"Better do hers so she can't chicken out." Christina answers with a smirk. Tris sticks her tongue out at her best friend.

Ryder chuckles at the exchange and prepares Tris for her piercing. She's nervous once she sees the needle, but surprisingly the pain is minimal. She looks at the blood red diamonds on the barbell and grins.

"Can you do my ears too?" She asks and Ryder raises his eyebrows.

"Sure I can. How do you want them?" He asks.

"I want one in each lobe and one up here in each cartilage." She points to a spot towards the top of each ear and he nods. "Same diamonds if possible."

"My niece is finally losing some of that Abnegation." Ryder smirks as he prepares her ears for the piercing needle.

"I'll always carry a little with me." Tris replies with a small smile.

"It's good to remember where you came from. Even those of us who didn't necessarily have the best childhood memories can find something positive to hold on to." He replies easily.

"Did you transfer too?" She asks as he finishes with one ear.

"Nope, I'm Dauntless born. My childhood was shitty, but this faction was my first love. Nothing was going to tear me away from it." He answers.

"Do you think Eric has anything positive from Erudite?" Tris asks quietly so Christina doesn't overhear.

"Some of the things that can be viewed as negative when it comes to his personality can actually be considered positive if you think about it. He's extremely analytical, which has held him back as far as social relationships, but it's served him extremely well with reading people. I'll be straight with you Tris I couldn't stand the kid before you got here. He was an asshole, and freely speaking he still can be but there's something about the two of you together that's brought out the best in him. Erudite was rough on him, but it made him who he is today and once you get past that shell he has he's a good man. Eric is wise and mature way beyond his years. I've told him before there's not many eighteen year olds who could be in the position he is right now and not lose their shit. I'm thirty-four and I know I wouldn't be able to handle a fraction of the pressure he's under."

"I feel like I add to the pressure." Tris says, horrified that the words just slipped out of her mouth without thinking.

Ryder looks down at the young woman he now considers to be his family and sees the turmoil she's trying hard to suppress. Before he can speak they are interrupted by Christina.

"What do you think?" Chris asks as she lifts her shirt far enough to show off her deep purple belly ring.

"It's perfect. I love the color." Tris replies.

"Yours look great too. Is red someone's favorite color?" She smirks.

"Maybe." Tris grins back.

"So, Will's out front… he kind of wanted to steal me away…" Christina says with apprehension.

"Chris, its fine, go have fun. There's no need for you to sit here and watch me get tattooed. Get out." Tris says with a genuine smile.

"You're the best." Chris beams and kisses her best friend on the cheek. "I want to see your tattoo when it's done." Tris nods and watches as her friend bids her goodbyes to Tori and Ryder.

"Tris, are you ready for your tattoo?" Tori asks and she notices the look her husband gives her.

"I've got this Tor if Tris is ok with it." Ryder replies.

"Yeah, that's fine with me." Tris replies. Tori smiles and busies herself, trying to give her husband and niece some privacy. She heads to the back room to do some inventory.

"You know I can't just let that last comment slide right?" Ryder asks. "Why do you feel like you're adding to the pressure?" He sits on his rolling stool and scoots next to Tris.

"He's already under so much pressure and scrutiny just being the youngest leader. I know that people fear him, and they talk about how cruel and ruthless he is, but he struggles with earning their respect. Now that people know that he and I are in a relationship there are even more eyes on him and more people questioning his judgment." Tris sighs.

"I'd say to hell with them and who cares but you and I both know that Eric does care what people think of him. He struggles with it all the time. I will say this again – you've helped him more than you could possibly know. He's a different man now." Ryder replies. "Where'd you want this tattoo?" He asks.

"Same place Eric got his. Will I have to get undressed up top?" Tris asks shyly.

"I can have Tori do it." Ryder offers. "Or, I can grab something of hers you can change in to that will keep you covered."

"Let's do that. I want you to give me the tattoo." Tris replies and Ryder grins at her.

"I'm honored." He chuckles. "Be right back, gonna grab one of Tor's tops."

Tris feels her borrowed cell phone vibrating in her pocket and she reaches for it. She finds a text from Eric.

 _E: Hey, I swear I'm not stalking you but I just saw Christina with Will. Is everything ok?_

 _T: Yeah, fine. I told Chris to go with him. I'm at the tattoo shop with our aunt and uncle. Feel free to join us if you'd like._

 _E: You sure? I don't want to crash your plans._

 _T: You're not crashing, I'm inviting you._

 _E: I love you. I'll be there soon._

 _T: Love you too._

She slides the phone back into her pocket. Ryder returns from the back room with a small bandeau top.

"I know it's pretty revealing, but it'll keep the important stuff covered." He says as he hands it to her. She smiles and takes it into the bathroom to change.

Ryder hears the bell above the door ring and he glances up, surprised to see his nephew standing there.

"Hey man, what brings you by?" Ryder asks as he shakes Eric's hand.

"Tris invited me by, hope I'm not intruding on anything." He replies with a sheepish grin.

"Nope, if she's cool with you being here then you know I am. You just missed your aunt, she went by the apartment to grab some stuff but she'll likely be back around. Have a seat." Ryder nods towards a chair.

Eric glances up and sees Tris emerge from the back room wearing a small top that exposes both her midriff and her shoulders. He sees the slight blush on her cheeks and he smiles at her. He notices the new piercing in her belly button and his mouth drops open.

"Speechless is good." Ryder chuckles at the exchange between the young couple.

"Very good." Eric mumbles. Tris leans down to him to kiss him and he pulls her to his lap. She giggles at him when he nuzzles against her. "I love these piercings."

"Well don't love them too much, I'm right here." Ryder quips and Eric rolls his eyes but laughs. He kisses Tris briefly before letting her go and she hops back into the tattoo chair.

Eric quirks an eyebrow at his girlfriend and she simply grins at him. "What else are you getting done?" He asks.

"You'll see." She replies. Ryder shows her the different freehand scripts he's come up with and she points at one.

"Be right back." He says before heading towards the back room.

"Is this shirt new?" Eric murmurs as he sits down next to Tris. He traces his fingers across her exposed midriff, careful not to touch her new piercing.

"It's one of Tori's; it's just to keep me from being too exposed." Tris answers.

"I think you may need to get one like it." He replies. "God Tris, you are so sexy. I can't properly express how much I love the piercings."

"I got your favorite color too." She smiles at him and he leans in and kisses her.

"I saw that. You look beautiful." He whispers against her lips.

"Uncle alert, break it apart kids." Ryder says as he comes back to his station.

Eric moves to the chair next to Tris and wraps his hand around hers. He watches curiously as his uncle prepares the skin right above her heart, opposite to the ravens she has tattooed on her collarbone. When he presses the stencil to her skin and carefully removes it Eric draws in a deep breath.

"Tris…" he says quietly feeling overcome with emotions.

"You're my heart too baby." Tris says to Eric and she squeezes his hand. He brings their entwined hands up and presses a kiss to hers.

Eric watches as his name is being tattooed on Tris and he battles the emotions it invokes in him. The only girl he's ever loved and ever will love is putting his name permanently on her body just like he did for her. He knows they will be facing the unknown in the upcoming weeks, but for now he is content knowing that no matter what happens he has experienced this love with her.


	20. Chapter 20

Max glances over at Eric and silently wishes he could smack the look off of the young leader's face. Jeanine made a special visit to Dauntless since she knew Eric was busy with initiation and all Eric has done since she's been here is yawn and mumble one word responses. He knows the last two weeks have been stressful on the young leader, with all of the meetings with Jeanine, firming up the war plans, initiation and most importantly Eric's assignment with Tris. Max and Jeanine both have been surprised that conception hasn't yet happened with Tris, and the only explanation they could come up with is that these teenagers were refusing to live up to the sexual stereotypes and perhaps were obstaining. Today's meeting was Jeanine's way of subliminally giving Eric one last chance to do things "the old fashioned way" before the war starts in just days.

"Are we keeping you up Eric?" Max growls.

"It's four o'fucking clock in the morning, excuse me if I'm tired." Eric replies. "I didn't get much sleep before you so rudely woke me up, sue me."

"So, you're sleeping less now that Beatrice is living with you?" Jeanine asks with a smirk.

"Jesus, please tell me you're not insinuating what I think you are." Eric replies grumpily.

"He'd be in a better mood if he was getting laid." Max replies and Eric scowls at him.

"So, how is your assignment going Eric? Is Beatrice pleased with your newfound freedom?" Jeanine asks.

"Yup." Eric replies.

"I saw your little fight a couple of weeks ago and I was concerned that there was trouble in paradise." She presses.

"Nope." Eric sighs.

"Eric, quit the shit. Show her some respect." Max growls and Eric rolls his eyes.

"What do you want to know?" Eric asks.

"Are you making her happy?" Jeanine asks.

"Yeah. She seems happy with me." Eric shrugs.

"How happy Eric? Are her needs being met?" Jeanine smiles.

"Seriously? You want to go down that road?" Eric narrows his eyes at her.

"I just need to make sure she's happy, and that she's not looking elsewhere." Jeanine asks while tapping her long nails on the table. "I've heard there are quite a few who'd like a good roll in the hay with young Beatrice Prior. We don't need her following someone else into battle because her supposed boyfriend wasn't man enough for her."

Eric pushes back the urge to jump across the table and strangle the bitch in front of him. He has never hated anyone the way he hates Jeanine, except for his mother, and he wants to wipe that smug look right off of her pale face.

"We fuck all the time, she's very satisfied. Happy now?" Eric asks, taking notice in the way Jeanine's eyebrows shoot up betraying the nonchalance she's trying to project.

"Jesus Eric, do you always need to be so crude?" Max asks, annoyed with Eric as usual.

"What do you want me to say? That we caress each other while we make sweet love? Give me a break, I'm handling my assignment just the way you two wanted. I'm also getting laid on the regular, so maybe I should be thanking the two of you. She's definitely not in Abnegation any more, believe me, the way she calls out my name and tells me how much she loves me when I'm fucking her lets me know she's not going any damn where." He smirks. Internally, he hates every word that he spits, but he can see the way both Jeanine and Max are eating it up even though they're trying hard to act offended.

"Well, thank you for the very informative update Eric. So Max, are we all set for two nights from now?" She asks.

"Indeed we are. We have all of your equipment set up in our old control room. The final fear landscape is tomorrow, and the morning of the war we will administer the injections." Max says.

"I thought we were giving the injections the day initiation ended." Eric adds.

"No, we're going to let them all have their crazy party to celebrate, then we'll pass it off the next day as a tracking device when everyone's too hungover to argue." Max replies. "If we dare try to organize anything the night of initiation it'll be like herding cats, everyone will be too damn drunk to even focus. They'll still end up fighting the same day, so it doesn't matter."

"Makes sense." Eric replies with a nod.

"Who is manning the control room?" Jeanine asks.

"Four's in charge, and the two Pedrad's are going to be with him. The elder Pedrad has massive control room experience, so he'll be an asset. The younger one will be there to keep the older one focused." Max answers.

"What about your internal team? Who else besides Peter Hayes did you recruit?" Jeanine asks.

"No one. He's all we need besides the team you already know about. Harrison, Deena, Eric, Four, Razor and myself. It's solid." Max replies.

"You will be with Beatrice, correct? You will tell her to pretend to act like the serum is working." Jeanine prompts Eric.

"Yeah. I'll bring her right to you. She will do anything I ask." Eric replies.

"Excellent. You two understand how much you both mean to me, don't you? Our new government is going to be outstanding with the three of us in charge." Jeanine beams.

"I look forward to it." Eric lies. Jeanine smiles widely at him.

"You will be in Erudite tomorrow night for your weekly dinner with your father, correct?" Jeanine asks.

"Yes." Eric replies.

"Good. Perhaps you should bring Beatrice. Introducing her to your father should show her how serious you are, wouldn't you think?" She asks.

Eric doesn't know what Jeanine's angle is with this suggestion, but he's instantly on edge. "I don't want to have to share the little time I have with my dad with her too. It's enough that I'm stuck here playing the perfect boyfriend all day, every day." He replies.

"Don't you worry about what she does when you're away?" Max asks.

"Not really. She's loyal." Eric shrugs indifferently. He already planned on bringing Tris with him this week, but he doesn't want to seem like he's giving in so easily to Jeanine.

"Eric, it's not a suggestion. Bring her to visit your father." Jeanine says evenly.

"Why?" Eric challenges.

"Don't fucking question me. Know your role." Jeanine spits. Max smirks at the exchange while Eric squirms.

"Fine." Eric says evenly and Jeanine nods.

"That's a good boy." She says condescendingly.

"I'm done with this bullshit. I have things to do." Eric says as he stands up. Jeanine stands in front of him.

"You will leave when I dismiss you." She seethes.

"This is my faction the last time I checked." Eric retorts.

Max opens his mouth to speak but Jeanine places her hand on his arm. "Eric, don't forget what I've told you. If you keep your attitude up I will kill your father. Don't test me." She says evenly. "Understand?"

"Yes ma'am." Eric answers while trying to hide his fear. He believes her when she says she will kill his father if he doesn't stop pushing her. He has to find a way to keep his temper in check.

"You're dismissed." She replies with a wave of her hand. Eric leaves the conference room without a second glance and makes his way back to his apartment.

He quietly lets himself in and walks back to the bedroom. He stands in the doorway for a few moments and watches his girlfriend sleep, taking in her relaxed face. He strips to his boxers and crawls in bed with her, wrapping his body around hers and pulling her against him. He immediately falls asleep, knowing that in just a few short hours he'll be back up and helping with the final day of fear sim practice.

Later in the day Eric is stuck in the sim room with yet another annoying transfer. He glances at the screen wearily, he's already sick of watching these stupid fears. He knows this girl isn't going to make the cut, even though Molly is a formidable fighter her inability to make it through her fear simulations is sealing her fate.

With tomorrow being the final landscape he's even more on edge than usual. He knows in just three short days, counting today, the war will begin. The last two weeks have gone by in a blur of activity and meetings. Jeanine and Max have been demanding meetings at all hours of the day and night, and then he's also had to make time for the meetings with his father and their team of soldiers who plan on rebelling against Jeanine and her war. Eric has been stressed and exhausted and it has shown. He and Tris have tried very hard to avoid letting the outside stress impact their relationship, but even she has been moody and irritable lately which has caused some small arguments between the two. He's distracted by the door opening and Four coming in.

"Max has asked to see me. Can you finish up here?" He asks abruptly. Even though it's been two weeks since Eric has learned of Four kissing Tris, he's yet to confront the other man about it, instead enjoying the true awkwardness between the two of them.

"Yeah. Who's left out there?" He asks.

"Top two initiates, Peter and Tris." He replies. "Peter's been on his best behavior ever since Max invited him to be part of the team. They should be fine out there."

"Get Lauren to take Hayes, I don't want to be in the same room as him. I'll take Tris." Eric replies.

"That's not a conflict of interest at all." Four replies with an eye roll.

"Get over it Four." Eric replies angrily.

"Fuck you Eric." He spits as he walks out the door, slamming it behind him.

Tris jumps at the slamming of the door and she watches as an angry Four stalks towards Peter.

"Hayes, come with me." He barks and Peter hops up and follows Four out of the room.

Tris stretches her legs over the chairs beside her and leans her head against the wall. She's extremely tired and wishes she could just go home and curl up in her bed with Eric and take a nap. They had tried to go to sleep at a decent hour last night, knowing that tonight was their last meeting as a group before the war, but they couldn't keep their hands off of each other and they made love well into the early hours of the morning.

Tris smiles when she thinks of the conversation she and Christina had earlier, and she knows she is going to use some of her newfound knowledge on her unsuspecting boyfriend tonight. Who needs sleep anyway?

"What are you smiling about?" Four's deep voice startles her.

"I thought you had to see Max." She replies.

"I did, but he got called into an emergency meeting and asked to reschedule. We can do your fear sim now." He offers.

"No thanks, I'll wait for Eric." She replies.

"You're still on that Tris? I'm not going to try anything." He says exasperatedly.

"You're right, because I'm not giving you the chance to." She seethes. "I'll wait for Eric."

"Technically, he shouldn't be scoring you." Four replies.

"Go ahead and tell Max that. I'm sure he'll want to know why you're interfering in his favorite project." She replies angrily.

"What is your problem? I said I was sorry and I haven't done shit since then. You think you love Eric, whatever. I'm not going to cross the line again."

"I don't think I love Eric, I do love him. And my problem is I had to tell my boyfriend that my stupid instructor kissed me during training and since then try to make sure he doesn't flip the fuck out and kill you." Tris replies.

"You told him?" Four asks with wide eyes. "When?"

"The same day it happened, I told him the night of the first meeting, on the fucking train Four. He knew something was wrong with me. That's how relationships work, when you love someone you know when something is bothering them. He thought I was upset with him, imagine that." Tris replies.

"I can't believe he's known for two weeks and hasn't said anything to me about it." Four says.

"He hasn't?" Tris asks.

"No. That's not like him at all. He's usually kick ass first, ask questions later." Four muses.

"Guess you were lucky then." Tris shrugs. "Either way, I won't be alone with you."

"You're alone with me now." He replies.

"Four, I'm only going to say this once and you'd better fucking understand it. You will leave my girlfriend alone. You won't keep hounding her about our relationship, I've warned you once already about that. If you have a fucking problem with me you talk to me. You will not keep trying to put bullshit conspiracy theories and rhetoric from your brain into her mind and you will not ever fucking kiss her again! Get the hell away from her right now." Eric fumes as he slowly walks from the doorway of the sim room towards Four.

Tris stands up and puts a soothing hand on Eric's chest. He's still breathing heavy with his nostrils flared, but he reaches for her hand and entwines their fingers together before bringing her hand to his lips.

"I don't trust you." Four growls to Eric.

"Why? Because Tris is with me and you want her with you?" Eric replies.

"Because if the two of you hadn't gotten together you'd still be following Jeanine like a puppy." Four replies evenly.

"You know dick about me Four, what makes you so sure that I would have followed them?" Eric asks.

"Because you admitted it before, you flat out said that you could have been convinced." Four argues.

"Lots of things _could_ happen Four. I _could_ have let your lapse in judgment go without a word, you _could_ get your ass kicked for making a move on someone else's girlfriend, Tris _could_ knee you in the balls the next time you invade her personal space. See how that works?" Eric replies sarcastically.

"Stop it, both of you. Do either of you realize how unattractive it is to see two grown men fighting like kids on a playground?" Tris asks. Eric squeezes her hand and tries to relax. "Four, we need to work together, and when all this is said and done you two can go back to hating each other but for now we need each other. I'm in love with Eric, and if you think any of your arguments are going to change that you are dead wrong. There is no one else for me, and even if for some unforeseen reason he and I were no longer together I would never view you as more than a friend. You need to understand that the reason I don't want to be with you has nothing to do with Eric, it's because I will never feel the same way for you."

"Whatever." Four says angrily as he stalks off. Tris shakes her head and she feels Eric snake his arms around her waist.

"I'm proud of you; I seriously thought you would have at the bare minimum talked to him about the kiss before now." Tris says as she leans her back towards her boyfriend's chest and lays her head against his shoulder.

"You didn't want violence, and I needed a cooling off period to ensure that didn't happen when I confronted him." Eric replies.

Tris turns around and faces Eric, who leans slightly in and presses his lips to hers. Eric pulls her closer to him and when a small moan escapes her lips he takes advantage and slips his tongue into her mouth. Tris and Eric continue to kiss until a throat clearing near them causes them to jump apart.

"I didn't realize that was part of our training curriculum." Max says, a bit of humor lacing his voice and the slightest smile dancing across his face.

"I'm sorry sir, we just got a little carried away." Eric offers contritely and Max shakes his head.

"Try to keep it professional during training hours, that's all I ask. I came to observe some fear sims, am I too late?" He asks.

Eric stiffens next to Tris. Even though Max is fully aware of her divergence, and is supporting their relationship thinking it's part of Eric's assignment, the thought of him personally observing Tris in action is unnerving. They've still been working to keep the impending war from her fear sims, and even though they've been successful in keeping the vision she previously had away, there have been other fears creeping in that are symbolic of the turmoil she's keeping tucked away.

Max notices the shift in behavior of his young leader and realizes that Tris must not have gone through her sim yet. "Tris, have you completed your simulation yet dear?" He asks nonchalantly.

"No sir." Tris answers honestly.

"Well I'm in for a treat; I get to personally observe the top initiate's work. Let's get started." Max replies with a smile, not missing the uncomfortable body language of Eric and Tris.

Max makes himself comfortable in a chair against the wall as Eric prepares Tris for the injection. He can see the fear in her eyes and he wishes he could talk openly with her. He mouths the words 'I love you' to her and she nods back at him before closing her eyes.

Max scoots his chair next to Eric's and both men watch the monitor with great interest. Eric is silently hoping that whatever fear this is won't put Max on any type of alert. He finally sees something on the monitor, but this isn't a fear he's seen before. He leans closer and watches intently.

Tris is standing on top of the Hancock building, wind whipping through her hair when she hears two distinct cries for help coming from behind her. She turns and sees two sets of hands gripping on to the side of the building and she takes off in a full sprint towards them. She looks over the side and sees a horrific site - her father and her boyfriend both holding on to the side of the building for dear life. She sees their shaking limbs and the exhaustion on their faces.

"Tris, save your father, it's ok." Eric says as his fingers begin to slip a bit. Tris grips onto his wrists.

"Don't you dare give up, we will figure this out." She argues. "Hold on Eric, just keep fighting."

She quickly looks over at her father and his grip too is faltering. "Beatrice, you can't save us both, you have to make a choice." He says.

"Dad, just hold on. I need you to reach for me." She cries out as she reaches for his arm. He refuses to move his grip from the building to her outstretched hand. She hears a noise and looks back at Eric, horrified to see that one of his hands has slipped off the wall.

"Eric! Take my hand." She shouts as she stretches towards him. He swings his arm up like dead weight, but manages to get a decent grip on her hand. "Don't you dare give up." She calls out.

Tris realizes her predicament. She has her father's arm grasped in one hand and her boyfriend's hand in the other. She can feel herself slipping off the roof under their weight.

"Tris, let me go. It's ok, save your dad. He's one of the good guys, he will take care of you. I'm not a good guy Tris." Eric says in a shaky voice.

"Beatrice, it's selfish to think of a boy you barely know over your own father." Her dad says. Tris knows these are not his real words, but hearing them still stings.

Tris arms are shaking from the effort to try and save both the father who raised her and loves her and the man she knows she's madly in love with. As she looks at the two men in her life, she realizes this sim is symbolizing the choice she very well may have to make in the near future since her father's dislike of Eric hasn't changed in the past two weeks. She needs to choose her present or past. Her faction or her blood.

"I'm so sorry dad. You've raised me to be a strong woman who sticks to her convictions and who loves deeply. Eric is my future, and I won't ever leave him. I love you dad." Tris whispers the last part as she loosens her grip on her father and he slips off the side of the building. She refuses to look down, instead throwing herself at Eric and finding her hidden strength to drag him up the side of the building and back onto the roof. They fall in a heap together, both shaking.

Tris wakes up with a start, Eric keeps his distance and she sees Max next to him. The elder leader turns his attention to Tris.

"Very impressive Tris. Faction over blood is a difficult choice, and you made the right one. I can see why you're in first place." He says as he stands. He walks over to Tris and places a hand on her shoulder. "You will be an excellent soldier." He remarks as he squeezes her shoulder once before leaving the room.

As soon as Max is gone Eric approaches Tris. He sits on the chair next to her and grabs her hand gently.

"It was just a sim." He says quietly.

"It was symbolic and you know it." She replies. "It's a choice between my past and my future."

"Are you ok?" He asks. "I know that's a dumb question, but I just need to know what you're thinking."

"I am. I told you I would always choose you Eric, and I meant it. I love you." She replies as she gives his hand a gentle squeeze.

"Let's get out of here." He says suddenly. He stands up and tugs Tris up with him, leading her out of the room.

She realizes they're heading for the train and she stops walking. "Where are we going?"

"Out." He grins. "I promise you'll like it."

She smiles back at him as they begin running next to the tracks of the approaching train. Eric easily makes the jump in and he holds his hand out for Tris, who jumps in without his assistance.

"You've gotten good at that." He says as he wraps his arms around her.

"I have a good instructor." She replies as she nuzzles against his neck. The young couple stands near the doorway watching their city pass by as the wind whips through their hair.

"Are you going to tell me where we're going?" She asks.

"Nope. It's a surprise." He replies.

Tris shakes her head and smiles, and then lays her head against his shoulder. He tightens one arm around her and holds on to the rail of the train with the other until it's time for them to jump.

He leads Tris by the hand into a slightly wooded area where the only sounds they can hear is leaves crunching beneath their feet. When they get to a large tree, Eric stops walking.

"Feel like making a climb?" He asks with a smirk. Tris looks up and sees a treehouse high in the strong branches above them.

"Heck yeah I do." She smiles as she begins climbing the tree with Eric right behind her.

Tris soon reaches the treehouse and hoists herself in and Eric does the same. She looks around and sees it's simple but rather nice, with built in storage boxes that double as benches, along with a small wooden table built in to one wall. Eric goes over to one of the storage benches, lifting the lid and pulling out blankets. He then sits down on the floor and Tris sits beside him, wrapping the blanket around them both.

"How did you know about this place?" She asks finally.

"I built it." He replies. Tris turns her head to look at him. "You know I had a pretty shitty childhood and I tried to avoid being at home as much as possible. So, I would get scrap lumber from Amity when they had it and I built this. I wanted someplace I could get away, and possibly even live in case I ever needed it. I wasn't sure I would make it in Dauntless, so if I were to become factionless I wanted a place to be safe."

"You didn't think you'd make it in Dauntless? How could that thought have even crossed your mind? You were made for Dauntless." Tris replies.

"I didn't have a lot of self-confidence. I was told that I was worthless, by my mom and by her punk ass boyfriends of the week." He scoffs. "I knew from a pretty young age that I was going to leave, but it wasn't because I didn't want to be in Erudite, it was just because of my mother and the abuse. I actually enjoyed the academics and research there, and the encouragement to explore and be curious. I possibly would have stayed if I never had to deal with my mother again. I left because I was a coward Tris."

"You are not a coward Eric; you are one of the bravest people I know. You are also one of the best soldiers I've seen in Dauntless. It may not have been your first choice, but it was a great choice. You're brilliant and you would have been amazing in Erudite, but being that close to Jeanine would have led to your eventual downfall. I can't imagine what would have happened had you not left." Tris says.

"Do you believe in fate Tris?" Eric asks. He wraps his arms a little tighter around his girlfriend as he patiently waits for her answer.

"I didn't before my aptitude test, no, but afterward one hundred percent. Every choice we made in our lives led us straight to where we are right now." She replies.

"I couldn't agree more." Eric says before placing a kiss on her temple.

"If you ever feel like talking about it I'm here. I'll never judge you." Tris says quietly.

"I'm so angry." He whispers. Tris turns so she can look at him. "Tris, I'm so pissed at her for keeping my father away from me my whole life. She never wanted me and she made that clear over and over, but she didn't want anyone else to have me either. What kind of parent does that? Who would purposely hurt their own child?"

"I'm so sorry she did that to you." Tris replies as she strokes his cheek with her fingers. He leans in to her touch.

"What if my dad doesn't like me either Tris?" He asks. "Right now we're bonded over stopping this war, but what happens when it's over? What if he throws me away like she did?"

"No, you cannot possibly think that. You are not what those people think you are. You are brave, and strong, and honest and pure. You treat me with respect, you are honorable and someone to be proud of. People formed an opinion of you based on what they saw and not who you are. No one took the time to know you; they just listened to rumors or started their own." Tris explains.

"But if I hadn't been so closed off…" Eric begins and Tris puts her finger to his lips.

"You will not blame yourself. I don't care how much of a jerk you were, all it took was someone who was willing to see past that. You are amazing Eric, and I'm not just saying that because I'm your girlfriend. I wouldn't have fallen in love with you if you were even one of the things people believed you to be. I hate that people have mistreated you, and I hate that they continue to judge you, but fuck them. You don't need to be held prisoner by anyone's opinion of you. Eric, you know who you are, and the people who know the real you know it too. To hell with everyone else." Tris says.

"You are the best thing that's ever happened to me." He says before leaning in to kiss her. When they break apart he leans his forehead on hers. "You are my family."

"You're mine too." She replies with a smile.

They are quiet for several minutes before Tris speaks again. "Do you think my brother is working for her?" She asks.

"Yes." Eric replies without hesitation.

"Willingly?" She asks.

"It appears that way." He says. "Are the two of you close?"

"No. We are close in age, not even a year apart, but other than that we have always been complete opposites. I don't even know why I was surprised at the choosing ceremony when he chose Erudite." She recalls.

"Tris, if he is willingly working with Jeanine he may end up going to trial for his crimes. He could be executed." Eric says carefully.

"If he is guilty he deserves punishment." Tris replies stoically. "I don't know what this will do to my parents though."

"I can't imagine what any of you are going through knowing your own flesh and blood may be working towards a cause that puts you all in danger." Eric replies.

"I can't think about it. I just look at it as anyone who's not for me is against me. It makes it simpler." She replies.

"You really are amazing." Eric says as he leans towards Tris for a kiss. She abruptly moves away and scoots towards an opening in the treehouse. She barely makes it before her lunch makes reappearance.

Eric hurries to stand behind her, holding her hair and rubbing her back in an effort to comfort her. She leans her head against the ledge and takes deep breaths in an effort to settle her stomach.

"We should go back to Dauntless, you were feeling too sick to go to last week's meeting and now here today the same thing. We'll wait until you're feeling better though." Eric says softly as he continues to rub Tris' back.

"I don't know what happened, I felt perfectly fine and then suddenly that." She says in between deep breaths.

"Do you want to sit down?" He asks.

"No, I actually feel ok now. I do think we should leave though, just in case that feeling comes back again." Tris replies.

Tris and Eric make it back to the Dauntless compound without issue, and even though she continuously assured Eric that she was feeling fine he still led her to the infirmary. Shauna was just about to leave, however when she saw Eric and Tris come in she waved them back to her office.

"Hey, is everything ok?" Shauna asks.

"Yes." Tris answers.

"No." Eric adds. "She vomited earlier out of nowhere. I just want to be sure it's not a side effect from her head injury."

"Is that the only time you've gotten sick since being injured Tris?" Shauna asks.

Tris takes a deep breath before answering. "No." She says quietly. She can feel Eric's eyes on her but she focuses on Shauna.

"You told me you just felt run down and nauseous when you missed our meeting last week. Were you really sick?" Eric asks and Shauna scowls at him before turning her attention back to Tris.

"How many times?" Shauna asks.

"Um, quite a few, but there hasn't been any real pattern. I just suddenly get sick, and then once I take some time to just settle down it passes and I'm fine the rest of the day. I didn't think it was a big deal, and since it's been over two weeks since my injury I figured it had nothing to do with it and was likely just stress related. Plus when I missed the meeting I really thought I just had a 24 hour bug or something." Tris explains.

"Tris…" Eric begins and one look from Shauna shuts him up. He sighs loudly, but doesn't say another word.

"I'm just going to draw some blood and run some tests. You're right, it could be from the stress you're under, but I'd like to be sure. I'll be right back; I need to get the supplies." Shauna says as she steps out of her office.

Eric immediately looks over at Tris. "Why didn't you tell me?"

"I didn't want you to worry. Plus, I felt kind of stupid getting stressed enough to make myself sick. We only have a few days until Jeanine starts her attacks, plus my head has been all over the place with my fear sims. I've just been stressed." Tris replies.

"I want you to be able to tell me anything. We live together and I had no idea you were even sick." Eric replies softly. Tris leans over and kisses him gently.

"I'm sorry. You have enough on your plate right now without worrying about my neurotics." Tris replies.

"I always have time for you." He replies.

Shauna comes back in and quickly draws blood from Tris. "Ok, I'm going to have the nurse take this to the lab, come with me to an exam room and we'll get you checked out just to make sure that head injury isn't causing any of this."

Shauna examines Tris and finds no residual issues from her head injury. She's sitting and chatting with the couple when the nurse comes in and hands her some paperwork. Shauna scans over the results, and she's shocked at what she sees. She tries to school her features but Eric immediately picked up on it.

"What's wrong?" He asks.

Even though Shauna knows she shouldn't discuss test results with Eric since he and Tris aren't married, she also knows asking him to leave will not go over well. She looks at Tris before speaking.

"Tris, do you want to discuss the test results in private?" She asks. She can feel Eric's glare.

"No. Is something wrong?" Tris asks. Eric reaches for her hand and threads their fingers together tightly.

"Tris, you're pregnant." Shauna says slowly.


	21. Chapter 21

**AN: This is the second half of the previous chapter, so if you haven't read chapter 20 please do before reading this one. I thought I had posted both this morning before work...apparently I was half asleep. Hope you enjoy!**

"What?" Tris asks loudly. Eric puts his arms around her but Shauna can see the shock on his face as well.

"You're pregnant, there is no trace of the pregnancy prevention serum in your blood. You may have received a defective dosage." Shauna replies.

"But they drew my blood right after I received the serum to ensure it was present. How did this happen?" Tris asks.

"Wait, who drew your blood?" Shauna asks.

"The nurse from Erudite, the same one who gave me the shot." Tris says loudly. Shauna can tell she is bordering on hysterical and she tries to speak calmly.

"We don't have the nurses from Erudite administer serums. Are you sure she was from Erudite?" Shauna asks.

"Yes! She had the blue uniform on, she had the Erudite hospital logo on her jacket. Why would I make this up? How the hell am I pregnant?" Tris yells and then bursts into tears.  
Eric holds her against him and looks over at Shauna.

"How would an Erudite nurse get in here and get to her? Who let this happen?" Eric seethes.

"There are many Erudite in and out during the inoculations, they provide the serums and they stay on site to ensure we don't have any unusual reactions from them. They do not  
administer the serums, and they only are supposed to interact with our patients by obtaining permission from a Dauntless doctor." Shauna explains.

"What else did they do to her Shauna? She was left unattended with a fucking Erudite for how long? Have you checked her for anything else?" Eric asks.

"We will run a full sweep on her blood for any other serum presence, I promise you." Shauna replies.

"What else can you check for? She needs a full exam, for anything you can think of. If those bastards did anything that will hurt her or my child..."

"Eric, calm down, please." Tris pleads and he can see that his outburst isn't helping her. He leans towards her and kisses her forehead.

"I'm sorry baby." He says quietly.

Shauna takes a deep breath before speaking. "You have options here, we can determine how far along you are and if you wanted to terminate…"

"No." Tris replies. "I mean, Eric and I obviously need to talk, but I don't even want to hear anything about terminating right now."

"I understand. I'm going to go get the ultrasound equipment, I'll be right back." Shauna says before leaving the room again.

"Are you ok?" Tris asks Eric.

"I should be asking you that." He replies as he sits on the exam table next to her.

"I'm sorry. This is my fault…" Tris says and Eric interrupts.

"Tris, we are in this together. It took both of us, and we thought we were being responsible. You couldn't have known. We are going to figure this out, together, ok?" Eric replies.

"You don't have to stay, I'd understand if you wanted to leave. This wasn't planned, and I don't want to terminate it Eric. I can figure it out." Tris rambles.

"Baby, stop this. I'm not going anywhere. Do you think I would abandon our child? Do you think I would ever abandon you? I love you, and I will love our child. Tris, I'm never going to leave you. If you want forever I'll gladly give it to you because I already know it's what I want. Tris I want everything with you." Eric says.

Before Tris can respond Shauna has entered the room with the ultrasound equipment. After squeezing some gel on Tris' stomach, she presses the wand lightly and moves it around.

"There's your baby that little spot right there." Shauna says as she points to a small spot on the screen.

"Holy shit." Eric breathes from his spot next to Tris. "This is real."

Tris stares at the screen for a long time not saying a word. Shauna continues speaking.

"I'd estimate you are around six weeks pregnant." Shauna says as she does some measurements on the screen.

"Wow, so pretty much the first time we had sex." Tris finally says. She shakes her head and purses her lips. "This is all my fault."

"Tris, it's not your fault. There is no blame at all to be placed. I don't know why the Erudite gave you the shot, and I don't know what they were trying to accomplish with the blood test they gave you afterward." Shauna says.

"Jeanine." Eric says quietly. "It has to be her. Whatever she has planned for Tris has to have something to do with this."

"She and Max also decided to fully support any relationship you have with me. Eric, did she tell you to sleep with me?" Tris asks with tears in her eyes.

Eric takes a deep breath before speaking and Tris braces herself for what he's about to say. "Yeah, she told me to take advantage of your affection for me. She's practically encouraged it. But why me? Why would she want you to be pregnant by me? I don't see how this would help her at all."

"I'd venture to say it was to control you." Shauna answers as she cleans off Tris' stomach. "She can keep you under her thumb if she is somehow able to be in possession of both Tris and your child."

"We can't let her find out." Eric replies. He can feel Tris shaking next to him and he sees she's crying. "I won't let anything happen to you. I promise you."

"Tris, Eric I have to ask, are you sure you want to have this baby? We could terminate and give you the proper serum." Shauna says carefully.

Tris looks over at Eric and he nods at her. "I want this baby with you, but I will support whatever you decide, this is your body. I love you no matter what, and I still want forever with you regardless."

"I know you think I am crazy, but I want to keep this baby." Tris says to Shauna.

"I don't think you're crazy at all. I wanted to be sure you knew you had options. I think the two of you will make great parents. My mom had me when she was sixteen and my dad was seventeen and they are great parents. My parents actually had two kids before they were out of their teens, Lynn is only two years younger than me. Things are different in Dauntless." Shauna says. "Tris, you are one of the most responsible and level headed people I know and the two of you are a strong couple. You two will be fine, besides there are many aunts and uncles to help you along the way." Shauna smiles.

Tris and Eric thank Shauna for helping them after swearing her to secrecy once again. The couple heads to the cafeteria to pick up dinner, neither one feeling very social at the moment. When they get back to their apartment, they sit at the island and begin eating their meals in silence. Eric reaches for Tris' hand and threads their fingers together like they've done for almost every meal since knowing each other.

"I'm scared Eric. I have my final fear sim coming up, what if the war or the baby shows up?" Tris asks.

"We will practice like we've been doing these past few weeks. You're going to do great, we are so close to being done with all of this and starting our lives together. Focus on that." He replies easily.

Tris stops eating and looks down at her plate. "How are we going to do this? I don't even know when I will turn seventeen and you're not even nineteen yet." Tris cries.

"You want to hear something really crazy?" Eric asks.

"Crazier than being pregnant at sixteen without being an official member? Or crazier than being the strange obsession of a psychopath?" Tris deadpans.

"Ok, so not crazy, how about unusual?" Eric presses.

"Fine." Tris replies.

"I checked your file for your birthday, look." He says as he slides his laptop over to her.

"October fifteenth. That's tomorrow." Tris replies with a genuine smile.

"Now the unusual part." He replies as he takes the laptop and brings his own file up. "Here."

Tris peers at the screen and her mouth opens, the corners of her lips turning up in a smile. "We have the same birthday, two years apart."

"Crazy huh?" He asks as he pops a French fry into his mouth.

"It actually kind of is." She smiles. "I never had any idea when my birthday was. As you know, birthdays aren't celebrated in Abnegation. Are they in Erudite?"

"They're acknowledged and I'd say they were celebrated with at least a gift or special meal. Mine never was though, my mom gave two shits about anything that took time or money away from drinking and drugs." Eric replies.

"We should celebrate our birthdays this year. We could do something, how about I cook for you?" Tris asks.

"My dad actually wants us to come for dinner. Would you be willing?" He asks.

"Of course I would." Tris replies with a smile.

"Tris, do you want to talk about things?" Eric asks carefully.

"I don't know what to think Eric. I know my parents were young when they had Caleb and me, and from what Shauna said so were hers." Tris laments.

"Yeah, and they were all good parents. Not like my stupid addict mother. Plus now we know how much my dad wanted me too." He retorts.

"Do you really want to do this?" She finally asks.

"Yeah, I do. I know we're young, and I know that neither of us ever expected this to happen, but I'm really ok with it. I love you so much, and I know in my heart that you and I are forever Tris. I fuck up with my insecurities a lot, and I will continue to work on that, but I do want this with you. Do you want this with me?"

"I do. I'm scared, with everything that's going on, but I do want this with you. This means we absolutely have to make it through this Eric. We have a life inside of me that we created, and we need to make sure we are here for him or her."

"We will baby. I'm never going to leave you." Eric replies before kissing her gently.

"Promise me Eric." Tris replies nervously.

"I promise you." He replies and kisses her again. When they break apart Eric speaks again. "I think we should share this with the people we trust. I would feel better if they knew. I know everyone is already willing to protect you, but I think if they knew that Jeanine may have sabotaged your prevention serum to purposely set this in motion they'll be even more vigilant in their protection of you. Would you be ok telling a select few?"

Tris smiles warmly at her boyfriend. The conversation they had about him announcing things without talking to her seems to have set in and she couldn't be happier with their progress.

"Yes, I am ok with that, and thank you for talking to me about it baby." She says before leaning towards him for a kiss.

"Want to take a nap before our meeting tonight?" Eric asks.

"Sure." Tris replies.

Eric sets an alarm on his phone to wake them and Tris does the same. They lay down and wrap themselves around each other, quickly falling asleep.

Eric and Tris are the first from their group to arrive for the meeting, they have been staggering their departure times to avoid drawing suspicion. The two walk hand in hand to their designated meeting building and soon make it down to where Amar and George are waiting. The room is empty, as it's over two hours before the meeting is set to start.

"Son." George smiles as he embraces Eric. Amar hugs Tris and kisses her forehead before moving towards Eric. George glances over at the two men and then discretely moves Tris away from them. He shoots a look at Amar, and Amar understands that George wants some time alone with Tris.

"How have you been? I was concerned when you missed last weeks meeting." George says quietly to the younger girl.

"I'm sorry, I was feeling sick and I wasn't up for the train ride. I had to almost force Eric to leave." Tris replies.

George nods his head but she can tell there's more he wants to say. He glances over his shoulder at Amar and the two share a nod. A few more people have joined them in the room, and Eric seems distracted enough for George to feel comfortable continuing.

"Tris, there's something I need to tell you. I need you to remain calm and try not to react in a way that will get Eric's attention. Can you do that?" He asks.

Tris nods nervously. "Yes, but you're scaring me."

George takes her hand and leads her to another small room in the expansive basement. The two sit down and he takes a deep breath before speaking.

"Amar and I work in the control room, and Amar is extremely adept at placing microphones in places that aren't detected. He managed to get one into Jeanine's office. We've been able to learn a lot about her plans, however we found out something that particularly disturbed us. Tris, you understand you're divergent, correct?"

"Yes." She replies nervously.

"We've all been led to believe you're the only one of your type, the only one who positively tested for all five factions." He continues. Tris nods. "Tris, you aren't the only one. There are two pure divergent, gentically pure as Jeanine calls it, and she has plans for the two of you."

"What type of plans?" Tris asks.

"She wants to have you reproduce. She wants two genetically pure divergent to create a new type of gene that no one has ever seen." George explains.

Tris begins to shake and she can feel the tears forming in her eyes. "Who's the other pure divergent?" She whispers.

"Eric." He says. Tris' resolve finally breaks. George puts his arms around Tris and pulls her against him.

Tris buries her face in his chest and shakes with sobs. George does his best to soothe the young woman, but he's worried that Amar won't be able to distract Eric for too long as his son is hyper aware of where his girlfriend is at times. He's soon proven right when Eric walks into the room with Amar on his heels.

"What's wrong? What happened? I turned around and she was gone." Eric says as he rubs Tris' back. "Baby, what's wrong?" He asks but Tris cries harder.

"Tell him." Amar prompts. "They are fine out there without us, we have well over an hour."

"Eric, we've learned what Jeanine's plans are, and they are much more than we ever expected." George begins but he shakes his head. He presses his lips to Tris' hair and the girl continues to cling to him.

Amar senses the hesitancy in George so he continues. "I put a microphone in Jeanine's office. It took a lot of work, and I had to make it undetectable by sweeping technology but I finally did it. Eric, we found out that Tris isn't the only divergent of her type. There is one other who's tested positive for all five factions, and that is considered to be genetically pure. Jeanine has plans to create a genetic sequence that no one has ever seen using these two Divergents." Amar explains and Eric stiffens.

"Who is it?" He asks incredulously. No one says a word. "Dad? Amar? Someone please answer me." He pleads. "Tris do you know?"

"Its you son." George finally says and he watches as his son's features harden.

"No, she's lying. She used her scanner to test me, I was below thirty percent. She must know about the microphone. We need to get it..." Eric is cut off by his father's voice.

"She programmed it to do that for you only. She's known about you since your aptitude test. They called her immediately and explained they'd never seen anything like you." George explains quietly. Tris quietly cries against him and he continues to soothe her.

"No. That's impossible." Eric says as his voice breaks.

"It's true son. This is why she's been pushing you so hard with your assignment. She wants to use the two of you." George replies.

"Tris?" Eric says and she meets his questioning gaze. She nods her head and he reaches for her, quickly wrapping his arms around her and pulling her to his lap.

"Jeanine sabotaged the pregnancy serum." Eric says almost in a whisper. Amar and George both look at the young couple.

"You already know?" Amar asks.

"No, but Shauna told us today that Tris has no signs of the serum in her. She also found out that an Erudite administered her serum and tested her afterward." Eric explains.

"What made you think to have her tested?" George asks.

Eric looks down at Tris and she nods her head again. "She's pregnant. We're having a baby." Eric says quietly and he takes in the shocked faces of his father and Amar.

"Oh my god." George murmurs and Amar joins his side, entwining his hand in his. "Does anyone else know?"

"Just Shauna since she examined me today." Tris finally says.

"We absolutely cannot let Max or Jeanine learn of this, but we may not be able to hide this from the team. She won't be able to fight." Amar says.

"I'm not sending the people I love out there without me. I won't." Tris says adamantly.

"Tris, you not only risk your own life by going out there, you risk your child's life too. I take it the two of you plan on keeping this pregnancy?" Amar replies.

"Yes, we're keeping it." Eric answers.

"We have to ensure that Jeanine is stopped. All of her team. If any one of her followers is left they will come after the two of you. If any of them learn she's with child they will stop at nothing to get that baby." George says. "We have to tell the others. They need to know."

"I need to tell my parents first, and Tori and Ryder. I can't let them find out with everyone else." Tris says quietly.

"I'll see if they're here." Amar says as he leaves the room.

"We thought we were being safe." Eric says to his father.

"Eric, it's ok. You're young, but the two of you are capable. We focus on getting through these next few days, small goals for now ok?" George says.

The three are interrupted by the return of Amar, followed closely by Andrew and Natalie Prior and Tori and Ryder. George opens his mouth to speak but Eric speaks first.

"Mr. and Mrs. Prior there's something we need to tell you." Eric says nervously. Tris can tell he's more nervous than she's ever seen him and she can't let him face her parents alone.

"Mom, Dad I'm pregnant." Tris says in a strong voice. Eric looks over at his aunt and uncle and sees the shock evident on both of their faces.

"Pregnant? You got my daughter pregnant?! What on earth were you thinking? She's sixteen years old!" Andrew seethes. Natalie is gripping onto his arm tightly and masking whatever emotion she's feeling.

"He didn't get me pregnant, _we_ got pregnant. It was both of us." Tris replies.

"Why?" Natalie asks.

"We didn't plan it. We thought we were being safe, unfortunately Jeanine sabotaged the pregnancy prevention serum..." Eric explains but Andrew angrily cut him off.

"You expect me to believe this? Why would Jeanine sabotage Beatrice? And for _you_?" Andrew growls.

"It's true. I bugged her office and she discussed her plans with Max. Eric and Tris are both divergent, something they called genetically pure. There's never been anything like them, they discovered Eric first and when they discovered Tris they wanted to breed the two to create a whole new genetic strain. She purposely assigned him to Tris in the hopes this would happen. If it hadn't happened naturally, she was going to find another way. Amar explains.

"My gosh. What is wrong with that woman? Breeding children? This is sick." Natalie exclaims.

"What are you planning on doing Eric? You're perfectly happy having sex with my teenage daughter, are you going to be responsible? Are you going to protect her from this madwoman? You realize that woman is going to do whatever she can to get to Beatrice don't you?" Andrew says with exasperation.

"Mr. Prior, I love your daughter very much. I will do anything and everything to protect her and our child. I want a future with her, I wanted it before we found out about her being pregnant today." Eric replies.

"Mom, Dad, Eric and I talked about our future already. We hadn't made plans, or made anything official but we'd already been discussing long term plans. This is a serious relationship, and I love him more than I can even put it into words. I know we're young, but we're solid and committed to each other. We can do this." Tris says.

"I want to marry her. It's not something she and I have specifically talked about or planned, and we're not in a rush to do so, but that is my plan. My future is with Tris, and with our children. I understand that we're young, but I can promise you that I will love and protect her as long as we're on this earth."

"How old are you?" Andrew asks.

"I'll be nineteen tomorrow sir." Eric replies.

"You have the same birthday as Beatrice." Natalie replies.

"Yes, he looked my birthday up and was surprised to see we shared the date. So I'll be seventeen and Eric nineteen when the baby is born." Tris offers.

"That's how old we were when we had Caleb." Natalie says to her husband as she loosens her grip on his arm.

George watches Andrew carefully and he can tell some of the anger he's feeling towards Eric is starting to slowly fade away.

"I want the two of you to understand that having this child commits you to be in each other's lives for good. It doesn't mean that you have to get married, and it doesn't mean that you even have to be together. I am still an old fashioned type of man who would prefer his pregnant daughter to be married before the child arrives, however I realize things are different. You two will know the time is right to make your commitment permanent, just as you would know if it would be best to go your separate ways. If you love my daughter the way you say you do, and if you are committed to her and the child the two of you have conceived then you will have my blessing and support. You are a part of our family as long as you choose to be Eric. Please don't make me regret my decision." Andrew says sternly.

Tris can feel Eric begin to relax his iron grip on her hand.

"I won't let you down sir." Eric says resolutely. He offers his hand to Andrew, and the older man looks at his extended hand for several seconds before shaking it.

"You protect her." Andrew says.

"With my life sir." Eric agrees.

Natalie embraces her daughter, whispering encouragement in her ear while she rubs her back. She then embraces Eric and he happily returns the hug. The two talk quietly while Andrew approaches Tris.

"Dad..." Tris says before her tears fall.

"Don't cry." He says before wrapping his arms around his daughter. "I love you Beatrice, and I have to let you be the adult you are. I need to trust your choice in a partner, and I will respect the decisions you two make as a couple."

"Eric's good to me dad. He's the type of person you'd choose for me. I need you to see past his outward appearance and his anti-social behavior." Tris explains.

"Beatrice, do you want to have a child with him?" Andrew asks.

"Yes. It wasn't planned but we both want this." She answers firmly.

"We should get the meeting started." George says quietly.

"I'll go, stay with your son. "Take your time." Amar replies.

Eric and Natalie glance back, watching as Andrew embraces his daughter and they talk quietly. Natalie squeezes Eric's arms once more before approaching her husband and daughter. Eric looks back at his family, instead of the angry looks he expected he sees the three are talking quietly amongst themselves. George looks up and catches his son's eyes and offers him a smile. He slowly makes his way over.

"I'm proud of you son." George says quietly.

"Really? I got my girlfriend pregnant right before a sociopath starts a war. I can't imagine what you'd find to be proud of me for." Eric says. His words are angry, but his demeanor is one of defeat.

"You're taking responsibility, and not because you have to but because you want to. Ryder and I had a conversation recently about how mature you are, and how you've successfully carried things that people twice or even thrice your age couldn't. You are an extraordinary young man, and you're goddamn right I'm proud of you." George replies.

"We know the two of you thought you were being safe. You couldn't have prevented this, not once you became sexually active. Eric, there's no time or place for blame with this." Tori adds.

"I've said it before and I'll say it again, you two are more responsible than people who are much older. You will be fine, and for those times that get overwhelming you've got your dad, Amar, aunt and me. You guys will never have to worry about being alone. Got it?" Ryder asks.

"Yes sir." Eric replies. He looks at his uncle and smiles. They are soon approached by the Priors and they walk together into the larger gathering room.

"Eric, there are some who have questions that I believe would be better answered by you. Do you mind?" Amar calls out. Eric and Tris walk to Amar's side.

"What did you want to know?" Eric asks.

"I think we just want to hear the plan again." A woman from Amity calls out.

"Ok. Dauntless is going to be injecting people two days from today. Our initiation ends tomorrow night, and the following day the injections will begin. That evening they will start the mind control sim. We will have three of our own team inside the control room, Four, Uriah and Zeke, all of which will be pretending to be under the sim. They are going to allow us to get to Abnegation, then they will stop the sim and destroy the equipment. As soon as the sim stops, we need to be prepared to fight. There will be Erudite in Abnegation and also in Dauntless, along with a few Dauntless traitors. We will need to convince those who were under the sim to fight with us. I'd like to take Jeanine and Max alive, there are many who want to see them pay for their crimes. You have the list and descriptions of the known Dauntless traitors as well. We take as many as we can alive, and if our lives are in danger we take them down." Eric explains calmly to the quiet crowd.

"How are they going to stop the sim?" Andrew asks.

"I've been given the override codes. Jeanine finally trusted me with them." Eric replies.

"We will be in our designated safe houses, waiting for the signal from Dauntless to join them in Abnegation." Amar adds.

"There's more. You all know that Jeanine has been after Tris, however Amar was able to bug her office to find out exactly what Jeanine had planned for her. Tris is considered an anomaly, a divergent who has tested positive for all five factions. What we found out is that Tris wasn't the first anomaly that Jeanine discovered. There was another, someone who had made up his mind to defect from her own faction after she tried unsuccessfully to get him to stay. Once she realized he was going to leave, she groomed him for a specific faction to serve a purpose. Once Tris was discovered, Jeanine hatched a plan to bring these two anomalies together with the hope of creating the perfect genetic strain, a pure divergent. Genetically pure is what she calls it, and she will stop at nothing until she gets it." George explains.

"Why are you being so vague? Who's this other anomaly as you call them?" Deena, an outspoken Dauntless leader asks.

"Me." Eric answers quietly. Tris looks over at their group of friends and sees the shock registering on all of their faces.

The crowd breaks out in murmurs and finally someone shouts. "So you've been with Jeanine all along!" This outburst causes more yelling and accusations begin flying.

"Enough!" George shouts. The room quiets considerably, turning their attention to the person they consider to be leading the group. "My son had no idea of his place in any of this until tonight. He's just learned today of one level of sabotage that Jeanine had already put into place for her plans to work." George glances over at his son and girlfriend. Eric looks at Tris and she nods her head. "Jeanine arranged for Tris to receive a defective dose of the pregnancy prevention serum that all female Dauntless initiates receive. Tris and Eric found out today that she is pregnant."

Eric glances up and sees the shock on their friends faces. Christina looks downright panicked, and Eric sees the blatant anger written all over Four's face.

"It's more important now than ever to protect both Tris and Eric. Not only are they both what Jeanine wants, the child they've conceived is in the most danger if discovered. This news cannot leave this room, we've told you all because we want everyone to know exactly what we're fighting for." Amar adds.

The group goes over the plans once more, and confirms the different safe houses they will be gathering in. Four separates himself from Casey and walks over to where Tris is talking with Lynn and Veronica.

"Can we talk, alone?" Four asks Tris. He doesn't miss the hard look that Veronica gives him but she and Lynn walk away after Tris nods at them.

"Ok, talk." Tris says firmly.

"Are you ok?" He asks.

"What do you think Tobias?" She answers. He nods his head once at her. "Look, if you're coming here to tell me how much of an idiot you think I am you can save it."

Four raises his hands and shakes his head. "No, I'm done being a jerk to you. Right now you need friends and I'm here to offer that to you, but mostly to apologize to you. I shouldn't have kissed you, and I shouldn't have been so immature in regards to your relationship with Eric." He says with sincerity in his eyes. Tris can see Eric approaching from over Four's shoulder but he stops once he sees the look in her eyes.

"You've done this before, you know?" She asks and he nods his head.

"I have, and I wasn't ever sincere before. I had feelings for you, and I was sure I could convince you to be with me once you saw who Eric really was." Tris sees the dark look Eric has but she silently pleads for him to stay put. "The truth of the matter is I was the one who needs to see him for who he really is. Look, he's an asshole and I'm pretty sure he always will be, but he's different with you. I tried to ignore the fact that he was changing and I continued to believe he was going to turn on us. I was wrong, and I am man enough to admit that. I don't have to like him, but he's earned my respect and for that reason I need to back off when it comes to the two of you. I like Casey, and I think there's something there between her and I and it's not fair to anyone if I continue to stew over things I can't change." Four says, finishing with a sigh.

"Thank you Tobias." Tris says softly.

"Does this mean you'll accept my apology?" He asks.

"Yes." She confirms.

"I'll find some way to apologize to Eric too. I doubt he'll want to talk to me, but I'll try. I can't say we'll ever be friends, but I do respect him as a leader, and as a man for the way he has treated you." Four adds.

"Apology accepted." Eric says as he closes the distance between them.

"Shit, you could have told me he was back there." Four says to Tris, scowling slightly.

"I didn't want to ruin the moment." She smirks.

Four turns his attention to Eric. "I'll have your back though this. Both of you. No one will hurt her or your child."

"Thank you." Eric replies. The two shake hands and Eric returns to Tris' side and puts his arm around her. Four nods at the couple before returning to Casey. They watch as he tenderly kisses her before leading her towards Lynn and Veronica.

Tris and Eric make their way back over to where both of their families stand talking together, and they continue to firm up their plans for the rapidly approaching war.


	22. Chapter 22

**AN: Hello again, and thanks for all of your reviews and follows and genuine love this story gets. You all motivate me! A special thanks to my soul sister Lunaschild2016 for all of our brainstorming sessions. If any of you haven't checked out her work you totally should, she has some amazing Eric/OC fics.**

 **I've tried to reply to reviews, and if I don't always reply please don't think it's because I don't appreciate you. When I get your reviews and feedback it means the world to me, so thank you all! I hope you enjoy this chapter.**

Jeanine is surprised when she hears a knock on her door, it's late and she wasn't expecting company. She smooths out her pajamas as she walks to her door. A glance through the peephole shows her visitor and a smile breaks across her face.

"To what to I owe the pleasure?" She asks as she steps aside to let Max in. She notices he is carrying a bottle of wine.

"We're celebrating." He answers with a smile as he heads to her kitchen and rummages through a drawer until he finds a corkscrew.

Jeanine arches an eyebrow at him. "Celebrating?" She asks.

"Celebrating." Max retorts. He pours them each a glass of wine and they walk over to her couch.

"Ok Max, you may need to be a bit more specific." Jeanine replies. Her Erudite curiosity is peaked and she has no idea what Max is up to.

"You're not the only one who can come up with an extraordinary plan my love. You see, I had one of my favorite nurses in the infirmary at Dauntless alert me any time an initiate is seen. Under the guise of my overseeing our training and ensuring that no one is hurt. One of her tasks is to send me real time updates on any tests that are run. I got the most interesting alert today." He smiles.

"Is it what I think it is?" Jeanine asks with a smile breaking out across her face.

"Indeed it is. Beatrice Prior is six weeks pregnant, her little bundle without a doubt fathered by our favorite young leader." He replies and leans his glass towards hers.

"We certainly do have some celebrating to do, now don't we?" She beams as she clinks her glass with his before taking a sip.

"What happens now?" Max asks.

"We move forward as planned, two nights from now we attack Abnegation." She says before taking a long sip of her wine.

"Jeanine, I know that part, I mean with this baby she's carrying. What is your plan?" He presses.

There is a period of awkward silence between them and Max begins to wonder if Jeanine doesn't trust him enough to share her plans. She sits her glass down on the table in front of them and tucks her legs under herself as she moves to get comfortable.

"As I've explained before, both Eric and Beatrice are considered genetically pure. Well, that's not technically true since both were born of parents who were not. When Eric was still a dependent, I suspected he was at the very least divergent. He exhibited signs in his early teens. I tried working with him, we ran some experiments on him and used his DNA to develop some serums. I couldn't find anything that would _cure_ divergence though." She explains.

Max looks at her thoughtfully. "Forgive me for my ignorance my love but why is it so important to you to cure divergence?"

"A person with true aptitude for more than one faction cannot be loyal. They are always going to go against the system, they are always going to look for a way to be in control and they will stop at nothing to succeed. We have an established faction system for a reason, and it has worked for hundreds of years until the divergent population began to grow. You've witnessed yourself how rebellious a divergent is with Eric. He's brilliant, and unable to be controlled." She remarks.

"It appears you are doing a pretty good job of controlling him Jeanine, he's still loyal to you." Max counters.

"He's loyal to Beatrice Prior. Max, do you really think I am blind to what he's doing?" She asks.

Max shakes his head, confused at the circles he feels Jeanine is speaking in. "What are you talking about?"

"Eric is in love Max. That boy has never had anything to fight for, and now we've given him several things. His father and Amar, his Aunt and Uncle in Dauntless, what is probably the love of his life with Beatrice and now a child conceived out of that love." She explains.

"So, he's playing us." Max replies.

"He _thinks_ he is, yes." She counters. "People underestimate me Max, yourself included. I make plans, and then I make more plans based on what could happen if those plans fail, and so on and so forth. Did I think Eric would fall in love? Absolutely not, because it's not ever been in his nature to do so. Even if he did, I didn't think there was any way a girl like Beatrice Prior would fall in love with him. I was proven wrong on both accounts, however I had plans in case this happened. Did you know that Eric's mother is not divergent?" She asks.

"No, but based on what you've told me about her I doubt she can help with Eric. He despises that woman." Max replies.

"Indeed he does, however his girlfriend is fiercely protective of him, and selfless too. If Shannon Coulter were to reach out to Beatrice, she'd want to meet her. Beatrice would want to find out why Shannon treated him the way she did, and she'd want to know if there was any way to heal Eric from the damage that woman caused. She'd also do this without his knowledge." Jeanine explains.

"Even if you're right, how would you make any of this happen? She's a drug addict, is she not?" Max questions.

"Indeed she is, and she will do _anything_ for her next high, including allow me to inject her with our mind control serum willingly." Jeanine replies with a smile. "As a matter of fact, Beatrice has already been exchanging text messages with Shannon tonight."

"How? The girl has no phone, and..." Max replies.

"Max, you allow things to go on right under your nose. Beatrice has a phone, although I'm still not sure how she got a hold of it. You honestly had no knowledge of this?" She asks.

"None at all." Max replies with a sigh. "How did _you_ know?"

"I've been monitoring George's text messages. While he's incredibly cryptic and careful with his messages, I still can tell who he's speaking with. Usually it's quite boring, just small conversations with Amar, Eric, Tori or Ryder and nothing of significance. However this unknown number suddenly appeared and it intrigued me. It only took a day or so for me to discern that it was Beatrice. Although their conversations are just as bland, it gave me what I needed to put Shannon in touch with her."

"My god, and she's fallen for it?" Max asks.

"Hook, line and sinker." Jeanine replies with a wide smile.

"My only question is how are you going to get her away from Eric? The boy doesn't stray far from her side." Max asks.

"Easy. I've planted a seed. I told he he had to bring her to Erudite tomorrow to meet his father. Once he has enough time to process that I demanded it, he's going to find an excuse for her to stay home. If for some reason that doesn't work, Shannon has planted that same seed in Beatrice. Between the two of them I'm confident that they will come to the conclusion that Eric is to go to his father to keep up appearances and Beatrice is to stay at home. If not, we will take her by force when he brings her here. Ideally I'd like to avoid that, but either way Max we will have Beatrice and her unborn baby in our custody tomorrow night." Jeanine lifts her glass and drinks her wine.

"Jesus Christ. Your mind is incredible." Max whispers before kissing Jeanine. The two move to her bedroom to properly celebrate their victory.

xXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXx

Tris watches Eric as he sleeps and she notices how young he actually looks when he's relaxed. He has one arm slung over her midsection, his long black hair is spread out on the pillow behind him and his lips are slightly parted.

She looks at his bare chest, admiring the way his muscles move as he breathes evenly. She traces her finger lightly along her name as she plants a kiss to his chest. She didn't know what to expect when she came to Dauntless, after seeing what she did during her aptitude test she was terrified of what she would find when she finally got here. She never imagined she would meet the love of her life, find the best friend in Christina that she waited her whole life for, gain an aunt and uncle who treated her like she was their own blood and now she's expecting a baby with the man in her arms.

Deep inside she's terrified of everything that's yet to come. They have a solid plan for stopping this war and she feels confident in the team that George and Amar have assembled, but she can't shake the feeling of doom that seems to be following her like a black cloud.

She was shocked earlier this week when she received a text message from someone identifying themselves as Shannon Coulter. She couldn't for the life of her understand why Eric's estranged mother would reach out to her. She's had to be careful to hide the texts from Eric, but she's managed to spend several hours exchanging texts with the woman.

Tris is angry at Shannon for neglecting her son for his whole life, and she's appalled that the woman dared to reach out to her in an effort to mend fences with her son. Tris is extremely protective of Eric, and her biggest fear would be that somehow Shannon bypasses Tris all together and finds a way to reach out to Eric. With the stress he already has on him with this war, and the news that he's going to be a father she's not sure he could handle anything additional on his plate.

She finally agreed to meet with the older woman tomorrow evening, and now she just needs to find a way to be able to separate from Eric without raising his suspicions.

"Baby, what's wrong?" Eric rumbles in his sleepy voice.

"I didn't mean to wake you." Tris replies quietly.

"You didn't, I just can't seem to stay asleep." He replies as he wraps her firmly in his arms. "What's got you wide awake?"

"The final landscape tomorrow. Passing initiation. Being pregnant. Oh and preventing a war. You know, the usual." Tris says with a wry chuckle. "What about you?"

"Everything you just listed." He sighs. "Let's talk about them. The final landscape, you're going to do great. You are easily the best at the fear sims, and you've been practicing with me. You're a natural." Eric says.

"What if I the baby shows up in the landscape?" Tris asks.

Eric doesn't say anything at first because he's afraid of that too.

"If the baby shows up you'll possibly have to manipulate the sim." He sighs. "The same way you've been doing in our practices when the war shows up."

"I'm scared Eric." Tris finally admits in a whisper.

Eric leans in and kisses her hard, wasting no time before deepening the kiss. His physical reaction is immediate and Tris can feel him pulsing against her as he subconsciously grinds his hips towards her. He moves his lips up her jaw and towards her ear, pulling her lobe into his mouth and sucking lightly on it.

"I want you." He whispers in her ear. Tris moans and arches her back towards him. "I want to be inside of you."

His aggressiveness and the way he's talking have her rubbing her thighs together for friction and Tris turns her head and pulls him closer to her, devouring his mouth with her own as she shamelessly ruts against him. She snakes a hand in between them and begins stroking him and he moans into her mouth.

"I want you too Eric." She says before kissing him again.

"I want to be behind you again." He says breathily as she continues to steadily stroke him.

Tris smiles into their kiss before pulling away suddenly. She rises to her knees and Eric follows suit, pressing his body against hers as they maneuver into the position they want. Tris has barely bent over before Eric has entered her and the sudden intrusion makes her gasp. He pulls her back towards him as he pounds against her. She feels his hands cupping her breasts and then pulling slightly on her hard nipples.

"Eric..." She moans. She braces one hand on the headboard and snakes the other behind her and around his neck.

She is aware of his hand tracing that arm and gently moving it from around his neck. He threads their fingers together as he moves their loosely entwined hands towards her wet center.

"What are you doing?" She asks nervously as he slows down his thrusts.

"Trust me baby." He whispers huskily as he guides her hand towards her swollen and throbbing bundle of nerves.

He stills inside of her and he places her fingers on her clit before moving his own fingers over hers, guiding her to pleasure herself.

"Oh dear god..." She cries out.

"That's right baby. You keep doing that ok. It's so fucking sexy." He murmurs as he begins thrusting into her again. He moves his hand completely, licking his fingers clean before moving his hand back towards her breasts and massaging them.

"One day I want to watch you touch yourself and let you watch me." He says as he's pumping into her. "Would you like that Tris?"

"Mmhmm." She hums.

"I can feel you tightening around me. It feels so fucking good. Are you going to make me cum when you cum baby?" Eric asks.

"Yes..." Tris whispers. "You feel so good inside of me."

"That's right Tris. Tell me how good this feels." He says. He can feel himself getting dangerously close and he needs her to cum first. He adjusts their angle slightly and within seconds she's calling his name loudly as she trembles around him. Her hard orgasm pulls his release immediately and he thrusts erratically a few more times until they've both pulled all of the pleasure they can from each other.

They collapse on the bed in a heap, both breathing heavily and their bodies covered in a light sheen of sweat.

"I need a shower." Eric mumbles against her.

"Remember the other day in the alcove?" She asks him.

"Oh you mean the day you almost made us late for training?" He chuckles.

"I didn't hear any complaints from you." She replies with a smile.

"You'll never hear me complain about sex with you." He replies. "Anyway, what about it?" He asks.

"I think we should try that in the shower." She whispers softly while grazing his semi hardened member with her fingertips.

"Right now?" He replies as he drags a finger through her wet folds.

"Yes." She whispers.

They unwrap themselves from each other before heading into the shower, making out like the teenagers they are while they wait for the water to get warm. After taking her against the wall of the shower twice, they finally wash up as the water begins to cool, but not without stealing kisses from each other along the way.

As the two dry off after their shower, Eric meets Tris' eyes in the reflection of their mirror.

"The world outside may be crazy but we are good. We're going to get through this and then we have the rest of our life ahead of us." He replies.

"I love you." Tris says softly.

"I love you too baby." He replies. "We can go practice."

"Really? You don't mind?" She asks.

"Not at all. I want you to feel comfortable. I really think we can get you through this." He replies as he grabs clothes from the dresser and begins to get dressed.

The two quietly make their way to the fear landscape room where Eric begins to set up the computer. They are startled when the door opens but it's Four who walks in.

"What are you doing here?" Eric snaps.

"Helping. You're here to have her practice right?" Four asks and Tris nods. "I thought having another divergent here would help. I saw you from the control room, I was visiting Zeke."

"Thank you." Tris says with a smile.

"Yeah, thanks. That's decent of you." Eric adds.

The two young leaders get the computer equipment set up while Tris nervously paces in the room. Eric approaches his girlfriend and stops her from pacing.

"Relax baby. You're going to do great. Are you ready?" He asks.

"Can you come in with me?" She asks.

"Since Four is divergent too I think maybe it'd be better if he did." Eric reluctantly admits.

"Ok." Tris agrees and she glances at Four. He nods his head and takes a seat next to her on the chair.

Tris and Four inject each other and they slip into a dream like trance as Eric pays close attention to the monitor.

The first fear is familiar to everyone as Tris and Four wake up in the open field. When the birds show up, Tris runs towards the fire and grabs a branch to swing at the birds. As the birds fly away, the fire gets closer to them and they run towards the small lake.

They jump into the lake and find themselves inside the glass box.

"You know how to get past this one." Four says and Tris nods. She shrugs her jacket off and shoves it into the pipe, keeping the water from rushing in. They are able to climb out of the tank and suddenly they find themselves on the roof of the Hancock building again.

"I hate this one." Tris whispers.

"It's just a sim Tris. You've seen this one before right?" Four asks.

"Yeah, it seems to be symbolic of me having to choose between my past and my future." She explains to Four.

"I'll be back here waiting." He replies and she chuckles.

"Can't do heights in a sim either, huh?" She asks and Four scowls at her. They hear the sounds of her father and Eric struggling to hang on to the side of the building and she springs into action, repeating the same steps as before when she chose to save Eric over her dad.

Once Tris has pulled simulation Eric to his safety the roof fades away and they are in Candor.

"What is this one?" Four asks and Tris shakes her head.

"I don't know." She replies.

Soon the room fills and a handcuffed Eric is brought in.

"No..." Tris whispers.

Four watches the scene play out, and realizes it's the same one from her aptitude test. They watch as Eric is forced to his knees.

"What do I do?" Tris asks Four as the two watch the scene.

"Kill me. Take the gun and kill me before I have a chance to speak." He replies quickly.

"No, I don't want you dead." She argues.

"Tris, do it. If Jeanine sees this scene or hears what I say to Eric she will know. Do it now!" He commands.

Tris rushes towards simulation Four and yanks the gun from his hand and shoots him point blank in the head. As he falls to the ground the scene changes to a stark white room.

They watch as Jeanine Matthews walks in and stands face to face with Tris.

"Beatrice Prior, its nice to see you again. I have a task for you to complete." She says in her condescending voice.

"What is that?" Tris asks.

"Here. Choose wisely." Jeanine says as she hands a pistol to Tris. She wastes no time in pointing the gun at Jeanine and pulling the trigger. The click echoes through the room.

"That was obviously the wrong choice." Jeanine smirks. A door opens and Eric is roughly pushed in. Tris watches in panic as he is shoved in front of her.

"What do you want from me?" Tris asks Jeanine.

"This is a test of your loyalty. You can choose to kill him or you can save him." She replies.

"I want to save him." Tris replies quickly and Jeanine smiles.

"I thought you might say that. All you have to do is give me the baby you're carrying." She smiles.

"I'm not carrying a baby." Tris replies angrily and Jeanine cocks her head to the side.

"What's that then?" Jeanine asks as she looks at Tris' abdomen. When Tris looks down she sees her belly swollen with her child.

"You can't have my baby." She cries.

"Then he needs to die." Jeanine smiles.

"No!" Tris yells. "I can't kill him."

"Then we take the baby." Jeanine replies.

"I don't know how to get out of this." Tris cries and Four steps closer to her.

"This is just a sim, you shoot him as soon as he comes into the door tomorrow. It's not real. Shoot him now." He says.

"No, I can't." She cries and Jeanine steps towards her.

"It's time Beatrice. If Eric lives I get the baby you two created. Guards!" She shouts.

"Tris, shoot him." Four yells.

Tris is sobbing when she points the gun at Eric and pulls the trigger.

She wakes with a start and she turns towards Eric who has moved right beside her. He immediately wraps his arms around her and she rests her head against his shoulder.

"You did good baby." Eric whispers and Tris shakes her head.

"I had the war and our baby, this is bad." She says.

"No, it's fine Tris. You have to shoot me just like you did before, as soon as you can. You have to shoot Eric as soon as you see him in the last one. It will work." Four replies.

"They'll know I'm manipulating the sims." She replies.

"They already know you're divergent, it's either that or they see that you know about the war and that you're pregnant." Eric adds.

Tris nods her head in defeat. She watches absently as Eric and Four work on the computer terminal while discussing her fears. Her thoughts drift away from their conversation.

Try as she may, she's been unable to keep the occasional fear of the war out of her simulations. The birds and water tank have been staples, as has the Hancock building and being forced to save either Eric or her father, but her inner fears regarding the war have manifested in different fears during the simulation. She knows that she will need to stop each fear before it gets too descriptive, and even though Max and Jeanine are aware of her divergence she still fears exposing herself.

She's brought out of her internal monologue by Eric's deep voice. "Hey, are you ready to go home?" He asks her.

"Yeah." She nods and stands up. She thanks Four on her way out and Eric shakes his hand before he heads off towards his own apartment. Eric grabs her hand and laces their fingers together as they walk back to their apartment.

They both undress and return to bed, however they're both too shaken from the practice run of Tris' landscape to actually sleep. Tris rests her head on Eric's chest and he traces his fingers up and down her spine.

"You're going to pass. There's not a doubt in my mind. You have to do it exactly how Four explained though, ok?" Eric says breaking the silence between them.

"I will." Tris promises.

"I won't let anything happen to you Tris. I'll die before anyone ever touches you." He remarks.

"I don't want anyone to die, not for me or for anything else." She replies softly.

"You're everything to me. You're the mother of my child. I will lay down my life to protect the two of you."

"Eric, I need you to live for us. I can't do this without you." Tris says. "Look at me."

Eric peers down at his girlfriend and he sees the fire in her eyes. "You and I are going to make it through this. You asked me before if I believed in fate and I do Eric. We are meant to be together. We were meant to find each other. We were destined to create this life inside of me and to be a family. You can't leave us."

"I won't ever leave you, I promise you that." He replies as he presses a kiss to her forehead.

"I love you more than I ever thought possible." Tris says.

"I love you too." He says. "Baby, there's something I need to talk to you about."

"Ok." Tris says, masking the worry his words have caused.

"I have a bad feeling about bringing you to Erudite tomorrow. Jeanine was adamant I bring you and that makes me nervous the more I think about it. I think maybe we should stay home."

"It's your birthday baby, and you always have dinner with your dad once a week. You need that." Tris argues.

"It's _our_ birthday and I think dad will understand. It's our first birthday together Tris, I don't want to spend it apart." He replies gently. No matter how much his estranged mother wants to meet her, she can't imagine spending their birthday apart either.

"I don't want to spend it apart either." She admits and he kisses her forehead and sighs in relief.

They lay in silence and Eric feels the telltale sighs of Tris falling asleep. He continues to lightly trace his fingers up and down her back until he's sure she's asleep. It's then he can finally relax enough to join her.

xXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXx

Eric nervously waits next to Max and Jeanine as they watch Peter go through his final landscape. They've seen successes with Will and Christina, Drew finished but he took so long that Eric can't imagine he'd make the cut, even though a few Dauntless born have struggled mightily as well. Molly's landscape once again had to be manually stopped, guaranteeing her place will be below the line and she will become factionless tonight.

"Uriah Pedrad was impressive." Jeanine casually remarks.

"Indeed he was. I'd venture to say he _could_ be divergent. Eric, what happened when you scanned him?" Max asks.

"Under the threshold." Eric lies easily.

The trio watch as Peter finishes and is led away from the room. Eric wipes his sweaty palms across his pants and then pulls his hair back into a ponytail. Max and Jeanine exchange a look, both seeing the nervousness that's radiating off the young leader.

Tris is led into the room by Four, who appears to be whispering something to her. Eric's muscles tense and retract repeatedly as he watches Four move her hair to the side before injecting her. He whispers something to her before she slips away.

"They seem awfully close." Jeanine says.

"Not a chance." Eric says before thinking. He quickly adds a sinister chuckle.

"I've heard you and Beatrice are getting along quite well. Are you going to have any issues turning her over to us tomorrow?" She asks.

"My dick will certainly miss her." Eric replies without looking away from the monitors. He's watching the beginning of her bird fear.

"Well, get it all out of your system tonight then. Tomorrow will be a busy day." Max chuckles.

"I'm sure I can have a couple of rounds with her before bringing her in." Eric replies and he tries to calm his extremely nervous stomach as he watches the water tank fear begin to materialize. "Maybe when you're done with her you could let her live? I quite enjoy her."

"You'll find someone else, just as wet and willing." Max crudely says.

"A boy never forgets his first." Jeanine laments. The room goes silent as the Candor fear fills the screen.

"What the hell is this?" Jeanine asks. She turns the volume up.

Eric watches as the simulation version of himself is dragged into the frame. Four paces in front of Tris with his gun out, and she grabs it from his hands and shoots him point blank. Instead of the scene fading, they watch as Tris goes to simulation Eric and removes the ties that bind his hands.

"I've never loved him, only you. I'm sorry he was jealous of what we have." Her voice fills the room. Eric realizes she's manipulating the sim but trying to cover her tracks. The scene fades into the stark white room, but this time a pregnant Tris is tied to a chair in the center of the room.

Jeanine and Max share a look and Eric swallows to try to remove the lump from his throat. He watches as a simulation Jeanine approaches Tris.

"So, it comes down to this Beatrice." She says. "I see you've gone and gotten yourself pregnant. I'd never expect a girl from Abnegation to be so promiscuous."

"I'm not promiscuous. I've been with one man and he loves me. He wants to marry me." She spits.

"Does he now?" Simulation Jeanine asks incredulously.

"Yes." Tris replies setting her jaw and tilting her head up strongly.

"Interesting. Eric, please join us." Jeanine calls out. They all watch as a simulation version of Eric joins them in the stark white room.

"You need something?" He asks in his usual frustrated manner.

"Did you impregnate this girl?" Simulation Jeanine asks.

"I did." He answers.

"Now, she seems to think you love her and want to marry her, is that true?" She asks.

"No." He answers.

Eric tenses as he watches the simulation play out. He wonders what Tris is doing. Jeanine and Max whisper in front of him. He turns his attention back to the screen.

"What should we do about this mess you've left this girl in?" Simulation Jeanine presses.

"Whatever you want, I don't care. I don't want her or the bastard child she's carrying." Simulation Eric shrugs.

"You love me!" Tris cries.

"The only thing about you that I love is that sweet pussy of yours, whether it be wrapped around my dick or when I lap you up with my tongue." He smirks.

"You used me! I hate you!" She screams.

"You were a lot of fun Stiff, but you'll have to find someone else to take care of that spawn inside of you. I'm not the type of guy who stays around."

"I will never trust you again." Tris says.

The monitors begin to clear and they watch as Tris begins to wake up. Four approaches her and begins talking to her.

Jeanine steps in front of Eric and he can see the rage she's trying to suppress.

"Fix this." She growls.

"What do you mean?" He stutters.

"Her trust in you is waning. You have to fix it. Do whatever it takes Eric, do _not_ let her believe you aren't madly in love with her. She's pregnant in that simulation, that's a metaphor for her believing you will abandon her if that were to ever happen. Fix it." Jeanine seethes.

Eric then realizes that Tris manipulated the last fear as well, she wanted Jeanine to give them a reason to lock themselves away and work on their "issues" instead of having her question the obvious manipulation that he and Four suggested. It's in this moment when Eric realizes just how brilliant his girlfriend is. He watches as Four leads her out of the room.

"I'll fix it." He murmurs.

"You'd better. If we lose her because of your inability to be the man she needs I can promise you I will _kill_ you myself." Jeanine growls.

xXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXx

Tris waits nervously with Uriah, Marlene, Lynn, Will and Christina for the final ranks to be posted. She hasn't seen Eric since this morning and she's extremely worried that he's angry with her for not manipulating the sims as Four and he suggested.

Four wasn't pleased with her last fear, only because the pregnancy was part of it. He didn't chastise her, and Tris could tell he was holding himself back from doing so. He also disappeared with the other leaders as soon as her landscape was finished.

She watches as the leaders gather on the catwalk above them, and she sees Jeanine Matthews hovering behind them. Eric catches Tris' eyes briefly, but his expression gives nothing away. She watches as Max steps to the front of the group.

"We're not big on fancy speeches here, that's more of an Erudite or Candor thing. We want to congratulate our initiates for their hard work and dedication to the training program. Anyone above the red line welcome to your home in Dauntless. Those of you below will be escorted out of the compound tonight." Max says and the screens behind him come to life.

"Oh my god." Tris whispers as she sees her name and picture in the first place slot. She's followed by Uriah, Lynn, Will, Marlene, Christina and several Dauntless born. She sees Drew and Molly both below the red line.

She doesn't have a chance to think before Uriah has engulfed her in a hug. "We did it, number one and number two!" He shouts as he twirls her around.

"Tris! I'm so proud of you!" Christina shouts as she grabs for her best friend and hugs her. Will throws his arms around both girls and soon their group is in one huge hug.

When they break apart she sees Eric making his way towards her with a rare smile plastered across his face. As soon as he gets to their group her friends are pushing her towards him.

"I'm so proud of you." He says to her as he wraps his strong arms around her. She winds her arms around him and buries her face in his hair, inhaling the masculine scent of his shampoo.

"I couldn't have done it without you." She replies.

Eric leans in and captures her lips with his, the two finally kissing each other without any shame or worry. They kiss because they love each other and not for show, even though a smug Jeanine and Max watch them from their spot on the catwalk.

"You realize your instructions to fix their issues are going to keep him from leaving the compound tonight, don't you?" Max asks.

"I do." She agrees. "They're putting on quite the show." She says as she watches the young couple kissing each other deeply.

"She's a member now, they probably feel a lot more free." Max shrugs. "What are you going to do if she doesn't leave to see Shannon?"

"Max, how many times do I have to remind you to trust me?" She asks, never taking her eyes off of Eric and Tris. "This is all part of my plan."

Eric picks his girlfriend up and holds her against him as he continues to kiss her fully. He doesn't have a care in the world who sees them or what they think, in this moment all he can concentrate on is the girl in his arms.

"He will never see it coming." Jeanine murmurs as Max breaks into a smile next to her.


	23. Chapter 23

**AN: Hello loves! Sorry for the delay on getting this chapter out. I basically rewrote it during editing because I wasn't quite pleased with it. Hope you enjoy.**

 **As always, thanks to Lunaschild2016 for her advice and being an awesome sounding board for my scatterbrained stories. Muah!**

The party was in full swing by the time Eric and Tris made their way down to the Pit. The multicolored lights are flashing in sync with the deep bass of the music they're playing through the speakers and many of the Dauntless members are already feeling no pain. Tris can sense the obvious discomfort of her boyfriend and she occasionally glances over at him as they walk hand in hand through the Pit looking for their friends. He's completely outside of his comfort zone and it shows.

Eric appreciates the small gestures that Tris keeps doing like squeezing his hand and they make their way through the crowd. He's trying to be more social, because even though Tris is introverted to a certain extent she makes friends easily and they've missed spending time with her when she started seeing Eric. He finally spots Christina waving wildly from a table near the back of the Pit, and he leads his girlfriend over to their awaiting friends.

"We thought it was a little quieter and less hectic back here." Christina says as she hugs Tris. Eric watches as Tris exchanges hugs with everyone at the table while he awkwardly stands to the side.

"Come on man, we're past this leader and initiate crap. You're with one of my best friends, that makes you one of us now." Uriah says as he tugs Eric to the table. Tris glances over at her uncomfortable boyfriend and shakes her head. She's thankful that her friends include and accept Eric.

"How are you feeling?" Christina asks only so Tris can hear.

"Ok. Morning sickness is a lie because I have anytime it damn well feels like it sickness." Tris replies.

"How's Eric handling it?" She asks.

"He's amazing." Tris beams and Christina grins at her friend.

"I'm happy for you Tris." Christina replies and Tris smiles brightly at her. She watches as Will winds his arms around Christina's waist and rests his chin on her shoulder.

"I'm happy for you too. Go dance with your boyfriend." Tris says and she watches as Christina and Will make their way to the crowded dance floor.

She turns towards the table and she sees Eric talking to Uriah and Marlene. Seeing him slightly relaxed as he talks to her friends warms her heart and she just watches the three interact. Soon Lynn and Veronica have joined them and Eric glances over at Tris and smiles as she makes her way to him.

"Hey beautiful." He says before kissing her. She stands in between his legs and they wrap their arms around each other.

"Hey you. Are you ok?" She asks.

"Yeah. Your friends aren't too terrible." He smirks.

"They're your friends too now." She retorts. He leans towards her and kisses her softly.

"I love you baby." He says while leaning his forehead to hers. The pulsating music changes to a slower song and the lights dim down.

"Dance with me." Tris says quietly and he shakes his head.

"I don't know how." He replies.

"Neither do I. We learn together." Tris says with a smile and Eric can't help but grin at her, especially when he remembers they've said those same words to each other before in a much more intimate setting. He threads his fingers with hers and lets her lead him out to the dance floor.

Eric looks around at the couples who are moving in sync around them, arms wrapped around each other and bodies pressed together. He looks over at Tris and pulls her close to his chest and wraps her in his arms. She rests her head against his shoulder as the two sway slowly to the music.

He feels her playing with the ends of his ponytail and he relaxes against her. He breathes in her sweet smell, vanilla mixed with something that is unique to her. He thinks about what their life will be like after tomorrow, in just two short days they will be out from under of all of the stress and pressure. They will be free.

Tris relishes in the warmth and security of her boyfriend's arms. She twirls the ends of his long silky hair around her fingers and she brushes her lips along the tattoos on his neck. He leans in and presses his lips softly against hers.

"You look beautiful." He says close to her ear before kissing her neck. "I never got to tell you how much I love this dress on you."

"That's because you were too busy trying to keep it off of me earlier." She replies with a smirk.

"You are complaining?" He asks while arching his pierced eyebrow.

"Not at all." Tris replies. The two kiss again, getting lost in each other as they sway slightly to the music.

"Tris, I love you." Eric says with his forehead resting against hers. "I know that we're both young, but I love you so much. I love that we're going to be a family, and I want to..."

"Trissy!" Uriah shouts from beside them. "Come take a shot with me!"

Tris furrows her eyebrows at her friend and Eric glares. "Uri, I can't drink." She says.

"Oh that's right you're..." He begins but Tris covers his mouth with her hand.

"Uri, don't. You can't." Tris growls at him and his eyes widen.

"I'm so sorry, I forgot." He replies. Eric and Tris can tell he's had his fair share to drink and he's on his way to becoming sloshed. Tris flags Marlene down and she comes over.

"You may want to take him upstairs. He's drunk, and we need him on his A game tomorrow." Eric says as quietly as possible. Marlene nods and leads Uriah away from the Pit.

"I knew at least one of our group would end up trashed." Tris says with an eye roll.

"I figured it'd be a Pedrad." Eric shrugs. "Tris, I want to talk to you, can we go somewhere quieter?"

She nods and he pulls her next to him as he makes his way through the crowd and away from the Pit. He begins to walk towards the chasm but they are interrupted by the annoying alert of his phone. He rolls his eyes as he checks the message.

"What the fuck? I can't have one fucking night uninterrupted with you?" He grumbles.

"What is it?" She asks and he shows her the message on his phone. It's from Max, demanding that Eric be in his office in twenty minutes to meet with Jeanine. "You knew this would happen." He grabs her hand and leads her away from the chasm and back towards the table they were sharing at the Pit.

"How many times do we have to go over the same fucking plans? I just want to be with you." He complains.

"After tomorrow you will be all the time. You'll get so sick of me." She snickers.

"Never." He replies before kissing her soundly. "I'm going to marry you one day Tris." He says in a serious tone.

"Really?" She asks and he nods. "I do believe there's a question you have failed to ask me, so it's awfully presumptuous that you're making that statement." She smiles.

"So hypothetically speaking, if I were to ask you that question what would your answer be?" He replies with a slight grin.

"Hypothetically speaking?" She asks.

"Yeah." He nods.

"Well, I don't like to make predictions. So, hypothetically speaking I guess you'd have to ask me to get that answer." She replies.

"Duly noted." He grins and pulls her in for a kiss. "I love you both." He says as he places a hand on her flat stomach.

Tris smiles at the sweet gesture and threads her fingers with his. "We love you too. How long do you think you'll be gone?"

"I have no idea. Will you be ok?" He asks. He glances at their table and notices that most of their close friends are out drinking and dancing.

"I'll be fine, I'm going to stay for a little while longer and then just go home." She replies. Eric scowls and she leans in and kisses him. When they break apart he cups her cheek in his hand.

"Be careful. There are a lot of drunk people out and about. I love you." He says.

"I love you too. Hurry back baby, we need to celebrate our birthday." Tris whispers seductively in his ear and he kisses her hard before walking away. He glances over at her one last time before making his way up the stairs to the leadership offices.

Tris watches Eric until she can no longer see him. She turns to watch her friends out on the dance floor and laughs at Uriah's silly dance moves. She's happy that for at least a few hours they can leave the stress and worry of the war behind them.

Christina bounds over to the table when she notices her best friend sitting alone. Will has headed off to get more drinks for their group, so for at least a few minutes the girls are alone.

"Where'd lover boy go?" Chris asks.

"Another meeting." Tris replies.

"It's never ending with that." Christina shakes her head.

Tris knows that Christina's response is spot on, and she feels terrible that Eric has to keep up this facade. He's under an extraordinary amount of stress, between the war plans and now the unexpected pregnancy, and somehow he has the time to take care of Tris and spend quality time with her.

"It's going to be over soon." Tris replies with a tight smile and Christina nods.

"So, has he asked you anything..." Christina drags the last word out and wiggles her eyebrows.

"What are you talking about?" Tris asks.

"Nothing." Christina says, and she's noticeably much more reserved than her usual boisterous behavior.

"Christina!" Tris shouts and Christina's eyes widen. "What do you know?"

"I don't want to ruin anything..."

"Chris!" Tris yells again.

"Jesus Tris." Chris shakes her head.

"You are bursting at the seams to tell me something so spill it." Tris smiles.

"Will bought me this necklace." Christina says as she pulls it away from her neck and Tris leans in and looks at it. It's white gold with a small black diamond pendent in the shape of a heart.

"It's beautiful." Tris replies as she smiles at her best friend.

"Eric was in the jewelry store when Will was there. He was buying something too." She replies.

"Really? What?" Tris asks.

"A ring." Christina smiles.

"Shut up!" Tris yells.

"Seriously. He didn't even try to hide it from Will. He just shrugged his shoulders and smiled at him from across the store. I'm ruining the surprise!" Christina says.

"He kind of ruined it himself earlier. He told me he was going to marry me, and when I told him he was being presumptuous since he hadn't asked me a question he posed it hypothetically. I told him he had to ask me to get an answer." Tris grins.

"Tris." Christina smiles. "Are you two really that serious?"

"We are." Tris replies with a nod.

"Because you're pregnant?" She asks.

"No, we talked about our future before we even knew. You think I'm crazy don't you?"

"A little, you know it's impossible for me to lie. Tris, you're only seventeen. Are you sure you want to get married? I mean, have the baby and maybe just make sure he's the right guy for you."

Tris would normally react without thinking, but she takes a deep breath and gathers her thoughts before speaking. "Chris, I love you for looking out for me, and for being honest about your concerns. Eric is the one for me, and I can see why you'd think it's crazy since he's my first boyfriend, well my first everything, but I love him and he is the best thing to have ever happened to me."

Will joins the girls at the table and passes a new drink to Christina. Tris watches the two as they interact, they share kisses and their body language shows exactly how much the two care about each other. Christina may admonish Tris for being so serious at such a young age with Eric, but what she doesn't realize is that she and Will are in just as deep.

"Will you be ok here if we go dance some more?" Will asks Tris and she nods. She grins at Christina as Will drags her off to the dance floor.

Tris' new phone buzzes in her pocket and she checks the text message, smiling when she sees it's from Tori. She remembers that Tori and Ryder are watching the shop so that Veronica and Casey could have the night off, so she decides to go visit her aunt and uncle and get away from the noise. She sends a quick text to both Eric and Christina to let them know where she's going, and she slides off her stool and makes her way towards the tattoo shop.

Eric takes a deep breath before knocking on Max's door. When he hears Max shout for him to come in he does so, and he's slightly surprised at the group he finds inside waiting. Jeanine is there, along with Caleb Prior, along with the rest of Dauntless leadership. Eric knows that Four, Harrison and Deena are on his side, but Razor is firmly with Max and Jeanine and he's a notoriously ruthless leader.

"Nice of you to finally join us. Sit." Max commands and Eric takes the last empty seat in the room.

"Ok, now that we have all of leadership here..." Jeanine begins and Razor cuts her off.

"Who the fuck is this kid?" He asks looking at Caleb.

"Razor! Show some goddamn respect!" Max admonishes.

"Sorry." He mumbles in response.

Jeanine narrows her eyes at the brazen young leader. If he weren't so loyal to her cause she'd have prohibited him from ever being part of this project. He's older than Eric and Four, but only by two years, and he rarely let's either of the younger men forget it. He's cocky and handsome, with his caramel colored skin, hazel eyes and shoulder length dreadlocks he looks like what Jeanine imagines a child of Max and her would look like. There are days that she thinks about a normal future with Max, where they could be together without being considered traitors to their faction. In their new government they will be allowed to be together, and for the first time in their years together they can be open and free.

"Caleb Prior. He was our top initiate and he was my hand selected leadership apprentice." Jeanine replies.

"Prior? You related to Tris Prior?" Razor asks.

"By blood she was my sister, however by faction laws I am no longer of relation to her." Caleb answers woodenly. Eric swallows back a nasty comment and does his best to mask the anger he's feeling.

"Funny, so we've got the girl's brother and the dude that's fucking her as part of the plan to take her down." Razor laughs and Eric glances at Caleb's face. He catches a moment of shock before the young Erudite once again schools his features. It was brief, but it was enough to make Eric wonder.

"I'm sorry, who else are you referring to?" Caleb asks.

"We should start the meeting." Harrison says and Jeanine holds a hand up.

"Caleb asked a question. Razor, please do enlighten young Mr. Prior." She says.

"Oh you didn't realize that he was fucking your sister? That's hilarious!" Razor cackles and Eric shifts in his chair. A cough from Four catches his attention and he sits back and tries to calm himself.

"What? Who?" Caleb asks nervously and both Four and Eric notice his calm facade slipping.

"Coulter. This one right here. Eric Coulter. He's been assigned to your sister since she got here. It's a real shame because she's one hot piece of ass, I would have loved to draw that assignment. Apparently they thought she'd somehow go for him and it worked. They've been running around this compound like lovesick teenagers ever since she got here." Razor replies.

"You've been having sexual relations with my sister?" Caleb asks Eric in a tight voice.

"Thought she wasn't your sister." Eric retorts.

"She's only sixteen years old!" Caleb replies. He's not yet shouting but he is dangerously close.

"She's seventeen, today's her birthday." Eric shrugs.

"You're entirely too old for her." Caleb replies angrily.

"I'm nineteen, and why does it even matter? It's not real anyway." Eric replies nonchalantly.

No one in the room misses the way Jeanine is looking at Caleb, and soon he catches on that everyone's attention is on his reaction. His slight protectiveness of his sister is a red flag in Jeanine's eyes.

"Caleb, if you aren't able to separate any feelings for Tris from the project we're about to discuss I'd suggest you wait outside." Jeanine says in a low voice.

"No ma'am, that's not necessary. I don't have any feelings for her, I was just appalled at an older man taking advantage of a teenage girl. I apologize for my outburst." He replies contritely.

"Good, now that we've gotten the virtue of Miss Prior out of the way, let's go over our assignments one more time. As you all know, injections will begin here onsite at Dauntless first thing tomorrow morning and continue throughout the day as needed. Max and I will be posted in a control center inside of Abnegation. Four will be in charge of the control room here, along with Peter Hayes and the Pedrad brothers. Now, the brothers will be under simulation however Peter Hayes will not be injected. Harrison, Deena and Razor you will be in charge of field operations in Abnegation. Eric, you will deliver Tris Prior to a holding cell in Erudite where Caleb will be waiting for her. Any questions?" Jeanine says in her usual matter of fact tone.

"Yeah, why does Eric get a solo job with the most important piece of the puzzle. I think maybe he needs someone with him." Harrison says. Razor quirks his eyebrow at the second in command and grins slightly.

"I'm perfectly fine handling things alone." Eric replies.

"You just want another go at her before you have to turn her in. You sly dog. She'll be under the simulation too. Putty in your hands. I'll sign up for that job." Razor adds and it takes everything Eric has to sit in his chair.

"Fuck off Razor. The only person who's touching that is me. You stay the fuck away from her." Eric growls. Jeanine turns sharply towards Eric and for the first time she's witnessing Eric drop his mask when it comes to Tris.

"But you don't care about her Coulter. That's what you've been trying to get all of us to believe. If you truly don't care, why would you give two shits about who fucks her before she's led to her funeral? Come on Eric, you got her cherry let some of us have a little fun before she goes. The tits and ass on that girl are legend, and that face and body are the stuff wet dreams are made of. I know I've rubbed one out thinking of her, shit maybe more than once." Razor grins as he leans back in his chair with his hands behind his head.

Eric jumps from his chair before Four can even react and he lunges towards Razor knocking him out of his chair and onto the floor. He begins punching and kicking the other leader and the two continue punching each other until Eric is dragged off of the other man.

"I'm going to fucking kill you!" Eric yells as he struggles against the tight hold of Four and Max while Razor bucks against Harrison and Deena's tight grip.

"Bring it on asshole. You're a fucking traitor and I just proved it. You fell for your assignment!" He yells.

Eric's chest heaves as he dares to finally look at Jeanine. He finds her icy blue eyes narrowed at him and her glare pierces through him.

"You're in love with her." Jeanine accuses and Eric says nothing. "Eric, are you in love with Beatrice Prior?"

"No." He scoffs.

"I don't believe you." Jeanine challenges.

"She's a good lay. That's all." Eric argues. Max steps up to his junior leader and leans in close to his face.

"You were never meant to be Candor now were you Eric?" He growls. "You are not going into this assignment alone."

"I can go with him." Deena offers.

"No." Max replies. "Deena, I want you in the control room. Four, you're going with Eric. The two of you will need to put your differences aside and get this done."

Four and Eric glare at each other and this time their interaction is forced. They'd discussed this strategy at the last meeting with George and Amar and agreed that if Harrison suggested it Max would likely consider it since Harrison is his second in command. Fortunately for all involved, Max played right into their hands.

"This is ridiculous. You don't think I can handle her? I've been handling my assignment just fine without anyone's help." Eric complains.

"Eric, you're a bit attached to Miss Prior, as was just proven by your interaction with Razor. When it comes down to it I'm not sure that you'll be able to let her go." Jeanine replies. "We do need you because she does appear to trust you implicitly, however I'm not sure that I can trust you the same."

"You've got to be fucking kidding me. This again?" Eric replies angrily. "Fine, do whatever. I don't give a shit about this girl. If you want number boy there with me, go for it. Just stay out of my way asshole." He growls the last part at an equally angry Four.

"Fuck off." Four replies.

"I'm still willing to go." Razor chuckles. Eric glares at the other man.

"Enough! You two are acting like children!" Max bellows. Eric and Razor are finally let go and forced to sit as far away from each other as possible.

Everyone quiets down and Jeanine pulls out several thick binders. Four and Eric share a quick look, knowing they are in for a long night.

xXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXx

Tris has only been with Tori and Ryder at the shop for less than an hour when she gets a text on her old phone, and she knows that only one person still uses that number for her and that is Eric's mother Shannon. Tris had explained to Shannon that she would not be able to meet her and she thought that was understood, so she's a little surprised to be getting a text from her. She glances at the text and sees that not only is Shannon asking her to meet, she's actually very close to Dauntless.

Tris says her goodbyes to her aunt and uncle and she makes her way out of the shop and out to the train, knowing that she won't be able to leave the compound any other way without it getting back to Eric immediately. She returns the text to Shannon and lets her know she is on her way.

Her thoughts are muddled and she is extremely nervous about this meeting. She jumps from the train when the abandoned building that Shannon is waiting in front of comes into view. She approaches warily and the slight older woman paces nervously in front of the building. She looks up sharply when she hears Tris approach.

She's shorter than Tris, extremely thin and her light curly blonde hair is stringy and hanging down her back in knots. She's wearing the required Erudite blue, but she could easily pass as factionless. It's obvious that her years of hard drug use are catching up to her, and she looks much older than her actual age. She's pale, and she has the same icy glare of her son, except her eyes are a light blue.

"You're Tris?" She says in a gravely voice.

"Yes." Tris answers quietly.

Shannon looks over the younger girl, noticing how pretty and perfectly innocent she looks. Her long hair shines in the moonlight, and she can't quite discern the actual color of her eyes but she sees the green in them. She can remember her son, his gangly looks, stringy dark hair and his angry demeanor and lack of personality and she wonders how on earth a boy like him could get a girl who is as wholesome as the one standing in front of her.

"How did Eric end up with someone like you?" Shannon finally asks.

"Excuse me?" Tris asks angrily.

"My son. He's arrogant, angry, reclusive and downright rude and here you show up looking like the poster child for Abnegation purity playing dress up in Dauntless clothes." Shannon replies.

Tris looks incredulously at the other woman and she makes no effort to hide the anger in her voice.

"How dare you? You have no right to even call Eric your son. Since you obviously know nothing about him, let me fill you in. He is a wonderful man, he's kind and gentle with me and he is smart and articulate. He's a leader in Dauntless, he's the youngest one they've ever had and he's brilliant. He loves Dauntless and he's dedicated to making us the best soldiers he can. He's the absolute best person I've ever known. He is none of those things because of you, it's all in spite of you." Tris spits.

Shannon laughs and it takes everything Tris has to not throttle the woman. She takes a deep breath and glares at the older woman.

"You are a little spitfire aren't you?" Shannon says. Tris doesn't answer so she continues talking. "You love my son?"

"Of course I love him. He's my everything." Tris replies.

"Interesting. I guess he has you fooled too then doesn't he?" Shannon rasps before lighting a cigarette and taking a long drag.

"Why did you treat him the way you did? Why did you allow men to abuse him?" Tris asks.

"Oh he must have told you some of his tall tales. I fucked up with Eric. Not that it's any of your damn business but I chose drugs and alcohol over my kid. I have no excuse. But, it sounds like he wasn't completely honest with you when he told his childhood story now was he?" Shannon asks.

"He told me everything." Tris retorts.

"Did he tell you he was willingly working with Jeanine Matthews?" She spits.

"Yes. Because that woman was the only one who appeared to care for him." Tris replies angrily.

"Really? That's his story? I see he's still not able to tell the truth." She laughs a dry bark.

"I'm not listening to this. You told me you wanted to reconnect with your son, and you've done nothing but insult him. You are talking about the man I love and I'm not sitting here and listening to this garbage anymore. I'd appreciate if you didn't reach out to me anymore." Tris says before turning away. She's shocked when she feels Shannon's thin cold fingers wrapping around her arm.

"I love my son. He may have convinced you that I don't, and he may have convinced himself of the same thing but I do love him. He's not the person he's led you to believe he is and I can prove it Tris. He's lethal and you are in more danger than you can even believe. Your baby too." Shannon says firmly.

Tris is shocked to her core. She's unable to form words as she stares blankly at the woman in front of her.

"You think I don't know? Tris, you are a naive child. Of course I know." Shannon says evenly.

"I don't know what you're talking about." Tris says in as even of a voice as she can muster.

"Tris, you may be a Dauntless now, but you were raised Abnegation. You know lying is selfish." She replies. "You're almost seven weeks pregnant with my grandchild and my son will stop at nothing to incubate that child until it's born and able to be turned over to Jeanine. You think he's loyal to you Tris, but he's only loyal to himself and to Jeanine Matthews."

"You are lying! You are a liar!" Tris yells and she turns away and starts running towards the train tracks.

"Tris! Stop!" Shannon yells. "I have proof. I can show you video footage from Erudite!" Shannon yells behind the younger girl. She watches as Tris stops abruptly and her shoulders slump.

Shannon cautiously approaches the younger girl and places a hand on her shoulder. "Tris, I was a terrible mother. I am a terrible mother. I didn't ruin him though, Jeanine Matthews has and you are in danger."

"I don't believe you." Tris replies weakly.

"Come with me. I can show you everything you need to know. If after you see everything you still don't want my help I'll walk away. You are going to have my grandchild Tris, and for everything I did wrong with Eric I want to do right with you and that baby. I promise you, if you don't want me around after you see this you will never see or hear from me again." Shannon says.

"He wouldn't hurt me."

"He doesn't have a choice. You need to see this." Shannon replies.

Tris closes her eyes. She loves Eric and he loves her. He's done everything he can to protect her from Jeanine.

He loves her.

He protects her.

He's afraid of Jeanine. He was afraid to go against her. He said she had threatened his life.

What if...

"Lead the way." Tris says in a firm voice. Shannon nods her head once and they walk towards the train tracks.

The ride to Erudite is mostly quiet, with Shannon chain smoking and Tris staying far away from her secondhand smoke. The older woman doesn't speak until she's finished her second cigarette.

"Why'd you let him knock you up anyway?" She asks.

"Why'd you treat him like pure shit his whole life?" Tris counters.

"You don't know anything about me girlie. You'd be smart to mind your smart little tongue." Shannon sneers. Tris realizes how much her expressions remind her of Eric.

"I know you didn't care about him, and that you held him from his father just so you could continue to do drugs. I know you spent every penny you had to buy alcohol and drugs, and that you let one of the slime balls you lived with touch him." Tris says angrily.

"What?!" Shannon shouts. "What the hell has he told you?"

"That one of your boyfriends sexually abused him for months!" Tris shouts and Shannon visibly winces at her words.

"I didn't know." She shakes her head.

"There's a lot about your own son that you don't know." Tris retorts.

"And there's a lot about your boyfriend that you don't know. Be careful when you point fingers dear, there are several pointing back at you." Shannon says calmly and turns away from Tris to light another cigarette.

"What are you going to show me?" Tris asks and she watches as Shannon shakes her head while exhaling out the open doorway.

"Something you'd never expect." She says over her shoulder. "Time to jump."

Shannon jumps from the train with Tris trailing behind her. She follows the woman into the compound and to an elevator where they ride in silence up to the seventh floor. They exit the elevator and head towards a set of glass double doors. Shannon opens the door and gestures for Tris to go inside.

As soon as she enters she is roughly grabbed by two large sets of hands. Tris struggles against their grip.

"Shannon!" She shouts and the older woman comes through the door. She looks at Tris with a blank expression before turning her attention to the burly men holding her in place.

"Where's Jeanine? She promised me my stash. Where is she?" Shannon asks.

"She's still in Dauntless." One of the soldiers growls.

"Let me go!" Tris shouts and the guards tighten their grip.

"You'll get your payment, let's get her locked away and we'll give you what Jeanine left. She wanted to see you before giving you the rest."

"Please, what are you doing to me? Please let me go. I'm begging you." Tris says through tears. She watches as a woman in Erudite blue comes towards her with a syringe.

"Hold her still." The redhead commands.

"Please don't hurt me, I'm pregnant, please don't hurt my baby." Tris begs.

"Oh believe me when I say we will do nothing to hurt that precious cargo. Sleep now." She replies before plunging the needle into Tris' neck and her world immediately goes black.

"Put her in a cell." The woman commands. "And get this junkie her payment and get her the hell out of here."

"Yes ma'am." The guards reply.

"Wait, do you know when Jeanine will be back?" She asks.

"No ma'am Miss Prior." The guard addresses the redhead with respect.

"Stephen, I've told you before please call me Samantha or Sam. When I hear ma'am I look for my mother." She replies with a laugh.

"Yes ma'am, I mean Sam." He replies. "Which cell should we put her in?"

"Put her in cell three. I may want to have a little talk with my niece once she's awake. I wonder if my brother realizes his precious little girl is pregnant. Andrew wouldn't take too kindly to that. Not at all." She replies absentmindedly. "Sorry, you're dismissed." She says with a wave and the men drag the unconscious girl away.

"Oh Andrew, you should have never left us here." Samantha Prior murmurs as she watches the niece she's never met be locked behind a heavy glass door. She pulls out her phone and dials.

"It's done." She says into the phone as she peers at the sleeping form of her niece through the thick door.

xXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXx

Jeanine places her phone back into her pocket and she gestures at Max.

"Ok everyone, I think we have everything down. Let's call it a night, get your rest because tomorrow is going to be a long day." Max announces and he watches as everyone files out the door, except for Jeanine and Caleb.

"Caleb, please wait outside." Jeanine says and Caleb quickly excuses himself. Once the door is closed Jeanine turns to Max. "It's done. Samantha just called."

"She's in custody?" Max asks unable to mask the surprise in his voice.

"You doubted me?" She replies with a smirk.

Max laughs before pulling her close to him. "You never cease to amaze me. So now we have maybe an hour or two tops before Eric goes into full meltdown mode."

"Oh I'm counting on it." She replies with a sinister smile.

"You always have a plan don't you?" Max asks and she smiles sweetly before kissing him.


	24. Chapter 24

**AN: Thanks again for all of the follows, favorites and support!**

Jeanine and Max quickly shut the door behind the departing leaders and Eric hears the distinct sound of the door locking. Neither Four nor Eric know what to say to the other and Four can tell Eric is barely keeping it together. This meeting was certainly intense, with Eric's mask of indifference towards Tris completely faltering Four knows they are in dangerous waters when it comes to Jeanine. Eric is much more on edge now that he knows that Jeanine has lost her trust in him, and the tension is radiating off of him. He doesn't make it far down the hallway before he leans against the wall and clamps his eyes shut. Four stops walking and awkwardly stands in front of Eric on the opposite side of the hall.

"Do you want to talk about it?" Four finally breaks the silence between the two.

"I'm worried about Tris. Jeanine's issues with me don't bode well for her." Eric answers quietly.

"We won't let anything happen to her. You know how many people we have looking out for the two of you." Four replies.

"Thanks." Eric mumbles and Four nods.

"I'm heading to the control room to find Zeke, I'll talk to you later." Four says before turning and heading down the hallway.

Eric takes a deep breath and tries to calm his racing mind. He texts Tris to find out where she is and he pushes away from the wall to head towards the tattoo shop. He is barely away from the leadership offices when he hears someone shouting his name. He turns around and he's almost face to face with Caleb Prior.

"We should talk." The younger man says. Eric scowls at him.

"What could you and I possibly have to talk about?" Eric sneers.

"We need to talk about my sister for one and for two the plans that Jeanine has for you both." He replies quietly.

Eric locks eyes with Caleb and the young Erudite doesn't back down from his intimidating glare.

"Follow me." Eric grumbles as he leads Caleb to one of the few places in the compound that has no cameras, ironically enough it's the control room.

The two men walk in and find Uriah and Zeke manning the monitors, both Dauntless are surprised to see the Erudite following Eric. Four walks in right behind Caleb and Eric and gives the two a curious look.

"Who's the nose?" Zeke asks.

"Caleb Prior." Four answers. Caleb jerks his head towards Four.

"You _are_ Tobias Eaton. I thought I recognized you when we were in Max's office earlier." Caleb says in awe. "I had no idea."

"What is he doing here?" Four asks gruffly and Eric gestures for Caleb to sit.

"He claims to have information about Jeanine and her plans for Tris and me." Eric replies evenly. He turns his attention to the young Erudite. "Speak."

"Can they be trusted?" Caleb asks as he jerks his head towards the Pedrad brothers.

"Yes. Do you think I'd have you come in here and tell you to speak if they weren't." Eric answers angrily. "Don't waste my fucking time, talk."

Caleb sighs nervously. "Jeanine wants to use the two of you to create some sort of genetic wonder, she keeps prattling on about pure genes and the ability to use that to cure the city of divergents. She's sabotaged Beatrice's prevention serum, this is why I was alarmed when that Razor fellow mentioned that you and Beatrice are sexually active. You need to understand that if she gets pregnant Jeanine will stop at nothing to get that baby."

"How could I help create a genetic wonder as you call it? According to Jeanine's stupid machine I'm not even divergent." Eric says, shooting a glare at Zeke when he opens his mouth to protest.

"Jeanine had me program that machine to give you false results. You are one hundred percent divergent, just like Beatrice." Caleb replies.

"So what if they're not having sex, what can Jeanine do about it?" Uriah asks.

"She's prepared to use other means to get Beatrice pregnant. She will extract her eggs and his sperm…." Caleb begins to explain and Zeke protests.

"Dude, I don't want to know. I get it." Uriah shakes his head and shudders.

"Why are you telling us this?" Four asks.

"Because I love my sister and I can't sit back and watch her be completely destroyed in the name of genetics. Once I found out that Beatrice was Jeanine's project I did everything I could to get close to her. Beatrice and I may not have been close as we grew up, but you understand how that works in Abnegation better than anyone else. I kept my distance because faction before blood was drilled into our heads every day." Four nods at Caleb and he continues. "Eric, Jeanine has enlisted one of your family members to get close to Beatrice and gain her trust."

Eric's already pale skin blanches and Zeke and Four both look at the young leader in horror.

"George?" Four finally asks.

"No, George wouldn't turn against his own son. She's had Shannon Coulter texting Beatrice." Caleb answers.

Eric jumps up from his seat and closes the distance between Caleb and him. Caleb cowers as the intimidating young leader hulks over him.

"What the fuck has happened? Has that vile woman gotten anywhere near Tris?" He asks angrily.

"The last I knew Shannon was supposed to try to meet with Tris tonight. The meeting we just attended was a guise to keep you distracted from Beatrice." Caleb answers.

"Why didn't you tell me before now?" Eric yells. He turns his attention to Zeke and Uriah. "Can you find her on the monitors?"

"Already on it." Zeke replies. Four walks over to an empty station and begins checking cameras too.

"I'm going to send out a group text to have them look for her. She's probably here somewhere Eric." Four replies.

"Why didn't you tell me?" Eric growls at Caleb.

"When could I have? Jeanine rarely lets me leave her side. The only reason I'm here now is because she wanted alone time with Max. She probably thinks I've gone back to Erudite." Caleb explains.

"Tori says Tris left the shop over an hour ago to go home. She's probably at you guys' apartment asleep. Tori is heading there now to check on her." Four adds.

"She lives with you?" Caleb asks.

"You already know that I'm involved with her." Eric replies angrily.

"Is she just a conquest for you? Your emotions during tonight's meeting suggest otherwise but I need to know." Caleb asks.

Eric reaches into his jacket pocket and pulls out a small box. He shoves it into Caleb's hand. "Open it and tell me that she's a conquest."

Caleb flips the hinged lid of the box and his eyes widen. "This is a…"

"An engagement ring." Eric finishes. "Tris is not an assignment, she's not a conquest and she's not a temporary fling. I was going to ask her to marry me tonight before that fucking bitch demanded her meeting. So before you assume anything about my intentions towards your sister think about that." Eric's anger is increasing and he's finding it impossible to deal with the Erudite, even if he's Tris' brother.

Zeke, Uriah and Four all gape at the scene in front of them. None of them had any idea just how serious Eric was about Tris. Sure, the young couple is happy and they seem to be in love, but no one realized the depth of Eric's feelings for Tris.

"She's only seventeen years old." Caleb protests.

"She's an adult. I'm an adult. We love each other and we both want this. Just be happy for her." Eric replies and Caleb stares at the other man as Eric puts the ring back into his pocket.

"She's already pregnant isn't she?" Caleb asks. "Eric, I know you don't trust me, none of you do. But I'm telling you if she's pregnant then Jeanine already knows. Max has been keeping close tabs on Beatrice and you."

Eric looks over at Uriah, Four and Zeke. None of the men know what to say to the conflicted leader.

"What is Jeanine going to do with our baby?" Eric finally asks. He sees the way Caleb's face falls.

"Are you planning on asking her to marry you just because she's pregnant?" Caleb asks.

"No. She and I had talked about our future before we knew about it." Eric answers.

"Jeanine wants the baby. You and Beatrice are a phenomenon that should have never been possible - two divergents who've tested for all five factions each born to a divergent and non-divergent parent." Caleb replies. "Your father is divergent and your mother is not, while our mother is divergent and our father is not. You were one of a kind, and when Jeanine learned that there was a second case like you she hatched this plan to get what she needed from the two of you to create an embryo and develop it in the lab. She didn't expect for Beatrice to leave Abnegation, and when she went to Dauntless she decided to take a chance and assign her to you. I'm sure you can imagine her delight when she found out that you were developing feelings for Beatrice, and that delight turned into pure joy when she found out those feelings were reciprocated. The two of you conceiving naturally was exactly what Jeanine wanted, and unfortunately you played right into her hand."

"I didn't play into anything. I love Tris, and she was never a fucking assignment to me. I had no idea that Jeanine wanted any of this." Eric replies angrily.

Eric's text alert sounds at the same time as Four's. Both leaders check their messages.

"Fuck." Eric says and Four shakes his head.

"What?" Zeke asks.

"They are starting the injections tonight." Four replies.

"This wasn't supposed to start until tomorrow night." Zeke says. "What about Abnegation? Have they moved anyone out?"

"Zeke, calm down man. The attack is still tomorrow night, they're just starting the injections early. The original plan was to inject tonight." Eric replies.

"Tris isn't at the apartment." Four says.

"What?" Eric yells. "Zeke, Uriah have either of you found her anywhere?"

"Not yet. I'm going to keep looking but the two of you have to go before Max gets suspicious." Zeke warns.

"I'll stay and help. Jeanine will text me if she actually even notices I'm not around. Go." Caleb says and Eric regards him warily.

"We don't have much of a choice. Everyone's looking for her, she will be tracked down. Come on." Four says and the two leaders make their way back to Max's office.

Max wastes no time with small talk, instead he and Jeanine organize the supplies for the serum and Max makes an announcement for every adult member between 16 and 40 to report to the Pit for a tracking injection.

Four, Harrison, Deena, Razor, Max and Eric all take their spots and administer the injections like they were instructed. Throughout the several hours they're working, they've accounted for each member of their social circle except Tris. Eric finally sneaks away to speak with Tori and Ryder in private.

"We can't find her." Ryder says. "We've looked everywhere, tried both of her phones and scoured the entire compound.

"Oh my god. She has her." Eric says frantically.

"Who has her? Eric what are you saying?" Tori asks.

"Jeanine's had Shannon messaging Tris. I think she lured her out of the compound. I'm telling you, Jeanine fucking has Tris. I have to go." Eric says.

Ryder puts a hand out and stops Eric. The murderous look in Eric's eyes doesn't go unnoticed, but Ryder stands his ground.

"Eric, you can't rush into Erudite on the night before the war we're working to stop. Tori, can you get a hold of George or Amar?" Ryder asks.

"On it now." Tori says before walking away with her phone.

"Let me go Ryder." Eric growls.

"Hey, listen to me. You're no good to her like this. She's ok, you know what Jeanine wants and there's no way she'll let them harm a hair on that girl's head. We are going to get her. Your aunt is going to get your dad and Amar on the case. I need you to stay calm though Eric. If Max catches wind of you acting anything less than how you normally do he's going to react." Ryder says.

Tori walks back over and hands her phone to Eric.

"Who is this?" Eric barks into the phone.

"It's your father. Eric she's here. Amar has eyes on her now." George says.

"Is she ok? Please tell me she's ok." Eric pleads. Tori wraps her arm around Eric in an effort to comfort him.

"She's ok. They have her in a cell. That red headed bitch that's been in and out with Jeanine is here watching her. Tris is sleeping right now. She looks fine physically. Son we're going to watch her." George says.

"Dad I need to come there. I can't sit here while they have her." Eric says as he shrugs away from Tori and begins to pace.

"Eric, listen to me. Amar and I are working opposing shifts so one of us will always be able to watch her from here. We will not let anything happen to her. Now get yourself together, you're a strong and capable leader. You're going to end this tomorrow son, and when you do you'll have your girlfriend and your unborn child by your side." George says in his deep rumble.

"Please don't let anyone hurt her." Eric says in a voice no louder than a whisper.

"You have my word Eric. We will watch her. I love you son."

"I love you too Dad." Eric says softly before disconnecting. He hands the phone back to Tori.

"Eric, we are going to…" Ryder begins but Eric notices his eyes wander to the Pit behind Eric. "Oh my fucking God."

Eric turns and sees the droves of Dauntless marching in sync. "They fucking started it."

Eric, Ryder and Tori begin sending frantic texts to as many in their group as they can, including the people with access to phones from their combined outside group. Eric takes off in search of Four while Ryder and Tori fall into formation with the rest of the Dauntless, blending in as if they're also under the sim.

Eric finds Four, who is just as confused and frantic as he is. "What the fuck?" Four asks.

"I have no idea. Jeanine is a fucking lunatic. Did Deena get Uriah and Zeke to the control room?" Eric asks.

"Yeah. But our assignment is nowhere to be found. What the hell?" Four asks.

"She's in Erudite in a cell. My dad and Amar are watching her through their control room. I don't know what to do." Eric says frantically.

"We stay calm and we play along." Four replies. "Come on." He starts heading up to the leader wing and the two go to Max's office. Four knocks on the door and he hears a muffled 'come in' from Max.

The two junior leaders find Jeanine, Max and Caleb inside.

"What's going on?" Eric asks.

"We decided to start early." Jeanine replies. "You two need to be down guarding the troops. Everyone should be getting a weapon and heading to the train."

"Our assignment is Tris Prior. Where is she?" Eric challenges.

"Your assignment has changed. Tris has already been delivered to her holding cell. Caleb is going to Erudite now to watch her." Jeanine says in a snide tone of voice and Caleb immediately jumps to attention.

"Yes ma'am." He replies before leaving the office.

Jeanine trails her icy eyes over to Four and Eric. "Now the two of you need to get down with the troops. We need to be looking for any errant behavior that indicates divergence. If you find one you dispose of it." Jeanine commands.

"Dispose of it?" Four asks.

"Kill it." Jeanine replies evenly. "Come with me Max." Jeanine commands as she gestures towards the door. "You two are dismissed." She growls at Eric and Four.

"Oh and Eric…" Jeanine says as the young leader turns to face her. "If you try to interfere in my plans you will lose. I'd hate to see anything happen to Beatrice." She warns.

"You won't kill her; you told me you needed her. She was the most important part of this whole war." Eric replies.

"Indeed she was, but now that she's pregnant she's no use to me. Her embryo can be implanted anywhere we choose. Our technology doesn't require incubation in the birth mother. So, your little bastard child will survive with or without Beatrice." Jeanine replies with a wide smile.

"Yes ma'am." Eric spits through his clenched jaw.

He and Four leave the office and head down to the Pit to oversee weapons. They watch as drone after drone pick up their weapon and march in perfect harmony. They see Lynn, Veronica, Casey and Will march by with Christina, Tori and Ryder not far behind. Each of them are playing along perfectly with their blank expressions and perfect marching.

"What's going on?" A man Eric recognizes walks into the Pit. "Hey, why is everyone marching?"

"Everything's ok my man." Razor says from the ledge above them. He hops down and walks closer to the man. "Hey, what's your name?" He asks.

"Salem." The man says.

"Say goodnight Salem." Razor says as he shoots him. The body falls limply to the floor. Razor turns to Eric and Four. "Look pussies, if you see one you shoot it. It's not rocket science." He says before climbing back to his spot on the ledge.

"You know, the two of you are useless here. Get to the train, ride into Abnegation with them and make sure everything goes as planned." Harrison commands. Eric and Four both catch his masked message and they nod in respect before taking off towards the train.

"We're getting off at Erudite." Eric says. "The rest of our group will help take down Jeanine's people in Abnegation. Jeanine won't be there and I guarantee she's on her way to Erudite."

"I agree that Jeanine is probably headed to Erudite." Four replies as he adjusts his weapon on his back. "But how the hell are we going to march into Erudite just the two of us? We need the rest of our group, and we can't leave with them until Abnegation is secured." He reasons.

"You're right. Fuck. This isn't going anywhere near planned." Eric runs a frustrated hand through his hair before gathering it up and securing it in a ponytail.

"She's safe where she's at compared to what we're heading in to." Four replies as he looks over the train. He's met with the blank stares of their faction mates.

The train actually stops when they get to Abnegation and Four and Eric both exchange glances when they begin to disembark. Eric watches at the soldiers idly march towards the residential area of Abnegation.

"Come on Deena." He says quietly. Four takes a deep breath from beside him.

The two walk in sync with the rest of the mind controlled soldiers. They see a smattering of Erudite blue and Dauntless black milling around in spots around the faction. They are getting closer to the residential area and Four shoots Eric a concerned look.

"What if she can't do it?" He asks.

"I don't know. We can't let them kill all these people. I have no idea how many Abnegation are still here. This wasn't supposed to happen until tomorrow night." Eric rambles.

Suddenly the synchronized marching stops and the confused lot of Dauntless look at each other curiously. They start shouting and the tension escalates quickly. Four whistles loudly and a hush falls over the crowd. He looks at Eric.

"Showtime." Four says quietly.

"I know you're all confused and I don't have a lot of time to explain things. You are all here as a result of the injection you received earlier. It was a mind control serum that Erudite developed under the instruction of Jeanine Matthews to use us to overthrow Abnegation. We've had a small team working on the inside, and that is how you are all freed from simulation. There are Erudite and Dauntless traitors surrounding this faction, and we need to fight our way through them until we find Jeanine Matthews." Eric says.

"Why the fuck should we trust you? I've seen you running around with her for weeks now. Why would anyone trust the likes of you?" Someone shouts from the crowd and a chorus of 'yeahs' follow.

"Shut up!" Eric shouts.

"You trust him because I do. Anyone in this faction knows how much we hate each other. I'm telling you right now that I trust this man, he's not who I thought he was. He's going to lead us to safety and we're going to take our city back. Max and Razor are both firmly with Jeanine. Harrison, Deena, Eric and I are on your side. Can I count on you Dauntless?" Four shouts.

"Fuck yeah you can." Ryder shouts from the crowd and the rest start cheering with him. Eric notices they are garnering the attention of the smattering of traitors closest to them.

"Protect the Abnegation at all costs. Protect yourselves and fight for Dauntless. We will take our faction back. It's go time!" Eric shouts and their group begins their descent on the residential areas of Abnegation.

Tori, Ryder, Veronica, Casey, Lynn, Marlene, Shauna, Christina and Will gather with Eric and Four and Tori begins to speak.

"George and Amar have our group gathered in our usual spot. We need to go there first, and then we go after Tris." She says.

"Lead the way." Casey replies and we take off towards our destination.

The sounds of gunfire and screams make the group halt and they turn to look towards Abnegation. They watch in horror as the Dauntless soldiers they sent in to protect the Abnegation are instead lining them up and shooting them execution style.

"Oh my god, the sim is back on." Lynn shouts and she begins running towards the fight.

"Lynn, wait!" Eric yells but it's too late as she, Veronica and Casey all take off.

"We have to find a way to stop this." Four says and Eric nods his head to agree.

"They're running it from Dauntless." Tori says. "We need to get in that control room and stop this. You two head to Erudite and deal with Jeanine, that's where the bulk of George's group is right now. Ry and I are going to Dauntless." She glances at Christina, Will, Shauna and Marlene.

"Our men are in there, we are damn sure going." Shauna replies with Marlene nodding next to her.

"We will go too; you're going to need all the help you can get." Will replies and Christina grabs his hand.

Christina looks over at Eric. "You bring her back to us."

"I will, I promise you that." Eric replies. Tori grabs her nephew and hugs him hard. "You'd better come back too." He whispers to Tori and she nods against him.

"I'm as Dauntless as they come, remember." She says with a smile and Eric hugs her one more time before letting go. Ryder hugs him next and finally Eric and Four break away from the group to head to Erudite.

The walk to Erudite is eerily quiet, and Eric feels like he can hear every step and every breath they take. He's nervous, not knowing why the simulation restarted, or what waits for them in their quest to rescue Tris.

"Four." Eric says and the other man glances over at him.

"Yeah?"

"I need you to promise me something." Eric says.

Four stops walking, unsure of where this conversation is going. "I'm listening."

"If anything happens, make sure you save her." Eric replies.

"Stop thinking like that. Come on." Four says as he turns to walk away.

"Four, I mean it. I don't know what we're walking into, and Jeanine hates me at this point. Just promise me that no matter what happens you keep her safe." Eric says.

Four looks at his fellow leader. This isn't a man he'd ever imagined going into battle with, and surely not someone he'd ever consider making any type of promise to. These past several weeks have changed their relationship for the better, and it's all thanks to the woman he's asking him to protect.

"You have my word." Four says.

Eric nods. "Thank you."

The two approach the main headquarters of Erudite and find it practically empty. Eric turns to Four and the two exchange a look.

"What the fuck is going on?" Four asks quietly.

"No idea. It's a ghost town." Eric replies.

"Let's fucking do this." Four says. "Cover me."

"I got you."

The twosome makes their way into the headquarters where they are once again surprised to find it rather quiet and deserted. Eric gestures to Four to follow him and he heads towards the cells he knows Tris was previously being held in. The sounds of gunshots ring out causing Four and Eric to take cover in an office.

"I can't tell where it's coming from." Eric says. Four shakes his head at him.

"Yeah it almost sounds like it's coming from both sides." Four replies quietly.

The sounds of shouting and gunshots start to dwindle and soon the room is eerily quiet.

"I think my dad and Amar are in here somewhere." Eric replies and Four nods.

The two wait several minutes and listen carefully before making the way out of the room. They cover each other as they check each room and corridor. The sounds of shouting catch their attention and they make their way towards the noise.

A yell and a string of curses stop them in their tracks.

"That's my dad." Eric whispers. He begins rapidly walking towards the sound of his father's voice. Four has to almost jog to keep up with him and they soon have eyes on George.

He's tied to a chair surrounded by three Dauntless traitors. There is blood pouring from a cut above his eye and yet he still looks fearless.

"Where is that bastard kid of yours?" One of the guards asks in a condescending tone. George says nothing and Eric and Four watch in horror as he endures punches and kicks from the man. The other two guards look on in amusement.

"He's a tough old shit." A guard remarks off handedly.

"I don't know why you insist on protecting that kid. Jeanine's going to get him no matter what. I'd just really like to be the one to bring his ass in." Another guard muses.

Four and Eric exchange glances and silent conversation as they gesture to the three guards. The two young leaders are waiting for the right angle to take a shot on the two who are currently leaning against the wall behind where George sits.

Eric gestures to the guard on the left and Four nods. They agree that Four will take the one on the right. Both men know as soon as they shoot the third guard will be gunning for them, and their main concern is that they can take him down without any harm coming to George. Eric silently mouths a countdown and the two fire in sync at their intended targets, dropping both Dauntless to the ground. The third guard immediately turns towards them with his weapon drawn on Four and Eric easily shoots him between the eyes. He too drops in a heap on the ground.

"That was impressive." George rumbles as Eric works on cutting the ties holding him to the chair. Four watches the door, covering Eric while he works. Eric frees his father and hands him a gun.

"Are you ok?" He asks.

"Fine. Takes a lot more than that bullshit to hold me down. Follow me; we'll get to Jeanine and Tris." George commands as he takes the lead.

"Where's Amar?" Four asks. They watch as George's shoulders sag.

"We got separated on the way here when we began taking fire. I haven't seen him or been able to reach him since." George answers quietly. Eric places a hand on his dad's back and for a few seconds George leans in to him. He then composes himself and begins walking again.

"We've been able to take out quite a few of them already. For some reason Jeanine has sent mostly everyone that was here either to Dauntless or Abnegation." George says quietly as they check each room.

"They restarted the sim." Eric replies.

George stops walking and turns to face the two younger men. "How?"

"We don't know. We lost communication with Dauntless almost immediately." Four answers.

"She must have some sort of contingency plan that she went over with you." George looks pointedly at Eric.

"If she did she never discussed those plans with me. It's likely something that Max knows though." Eric replies.

"Is it possible that Deena turned?" George asks.

Both Four and Eric shrug. "I'm not sure. At this point I guess anything is possible." Four says as the three men continue their way to the holding cells.

xXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXx

Tris opens her eyes and squints against the bright white light in the cell.

"I was starting to think you were dead, Stiff." A voice calls out from across the room. She sits up and faces him.

"Peter…" She says through gritted teeth.

"In the flesh. Did you miss me?" He smirks.

Tris looks around the small room taking in everything. Its lone small window is almost at the ceiling, and the door has its own thick window, most likely bulletproof, is clear to see the other cells along with a central guard station.

"How long have I been here?" Tris asks.

"Eh, several hours I guess." He shrugs.

"Why are you in here with me?" She asks.

"I'm supposed to be guarding you. I guess they're afraid you're going to do something stupid to yourself or the kid." He replies.

Tris can feel a blush crawling up her neck to her face and Peter chuckles. "Look Stiff, we all knew you were sleeping with Eric. No need to be shy about the fact that you're knocked up." Peter replies with a shrug.

"Do you know what they're going to do to me?" She asks.

"Do you actually think I am going to tell you? God Stiff, you're a lot dumber than I thought." Peter scoffs. "I do know they plan on bringing your boyfriend in too. Who would have thought that the two of you were some sort of anomaly? It's pretty ironic." He replies.

"We're people Peter. We're not anomalies, or freak shows, or anything else. We are people. Why would you participate in something so evil?" Tris asks.

"You view it as evil and I view it as the future. Jeanine has plans to change the entire city. Why wouldn't I want to jump on board? Your boyfriend was an idiot for turning against her. He would have been highly ranked in her new government but instead he's going to be punished for his betrayal." Peter replies.

"Punished? How? What is she going to do to him?" Tris asks.

"Stiff, you know better than that. I'm not going to be able to share that with you." He replies with a chuckle.

Tris wants nothing more than to punch that arrogant smirk off of his face, but she knows getting into any type of physical altercation would endanger her baby.

She glances out the window on her door and sees Caleb talking to a red headed woman.

Peter follows her line of sight. "Ah, the family reunion, how sweet."

Tris turns to look at him and furrows her brows. "What are you talking about?" She asks.

"Oh, you didn't know? That's your aunt out there. She's your father's sister and it looks like she and Caleb are getting along just famously." Peter says with a smirk.

"Aunt? Why didn't my dad ever tell me? Why would she hurt me?" Tris murmurs.

"The same reason we're all here Stiff. Power." Peter replies. "It is kind of shitty that your own brother and aunt are against you." He shrugs.

She watches through narrowed eyes as Jeanine approaches her brother and aunt. Jeanine turns to face Tris' cell, and when she locks eyes with the younger woman she smiles widely. Her smile doesn't falter at all when she makes her way over to the cell and unlocks the door.

"Why hello Beatrice, or is it Tris? I can never understand you Dauntless changing names. Anywho, it seems as if you've settled right in. Have they fed you?" She asks.

Tris glares at the older woman. "Fuck off."

"My, what a mouth on you. For a former Abnegation you certainly have a colorful vocabulary." Jeanine smirks. "Peter, go and see if Caleb or Samantha need anything."

"Yes ma'am." Peter replies as he quickly exits the cell.

"So, Tris, how have you been feeling? Do you have anything you'd like to share with me?" Jeanine asks with a sinister smile.

"I believe I told you to fuck off." Tris replies.

Jeanine shakes her head. "I guess it's fortunate that babies in utero don't develop the ability to hear until around twenty-three weeks. I'd hate for your little bundle of joy's first word to be any of the vile ones that come out of yours and Eric's mouths."

"Excuse me?" Tris retorts. She's working extremely hard to hide her nervousness.

"Oh Tris, you underestimate me. Did you really think I'd not know of your very real relationship with young Mr. Coulter? I'm very pleased that the two of you couldn't chastise yourselves as it makes the incubation of your embryo so much easier this way. I hear you are six weeks along, congratulations. I am looking so forward to its arrival." Jeanine says with a smile.

"You will never get my baby." Tris growls out at Jeanine.

"Oh, dear Miss Prior, thats where you are very mistaken. I always get what I want. Now, we're going to do a little family DNA excercise since I'm fortunate to have three Priors with me this evening. This will tide us over until our father-to-be arrives." Jeanine signals out the window and the door to her cell opens.

"I don't believe you've officially met. Samantha Prior, this is Beatrice Prior. Beatrice, this is Samantha." Jeanine says happily.

Samantha looks over at Tris with a frown. "You look exactly like your father."

"You look exactly like an uptight bitch." Tris replies with a fake smile.

Samantha furrows her brows at her niece and frowns in disgust. "You are as vile as that worthless boy you've been fornicating with. How the two of you could possibly be what we've been looking for is beyond me."

"Now Sam, you know we're going to run a full DNA and genetics panel, so you'll see firsthand just how special young Miss Prior is. Caleb, Peter?" She calls.

"Yes ma'am." Caleb answers with Peter on his heels.

"Escort Tris to the lab, immediately." Jeanine commands. She watches as Caleb expressionlessly grabs his sister's arm and escorts her out of the cell.

Jeanine glances at her watch and smirks. "Any minute now Eric. Any minute." She murmurs before exiting the cell.


	25. Chapter 25

**AN: Thanks to you all for the reads, favorites, follows and reviews. We've come to the end of this story, it isn't the final chapter there will be an epilogue to follow soon. Thank you all for taking the ride with me!**

 **Special thank you to my soul sister Lunaschild2016 for her proofreading and advice for this story and all others, and for all of our brainstorming sessions. You are the best! :)**

This isn't the way it was supposed to happen. That's all Eric can think about as he follows his father down several long corridors as they make their way to the holding cells. The simulation should be long over by now, they should have Max and Jeanine under arrest, along with her followers and co-conspirators, and he and Tris should be able to sleep tonight knowing their life together was finally starting. This isn't the way any of this was supposed to happen.

Every noise, every corner they turn, every closed door gets checked. He watches the way his father works and he sees the Dauntless soldier he was always meant to be. He glances over his shoulder at Four and he sees the same alertness in his eyes. This is exactly what they've always trained for in Dauntless.

George opens a door and gestures for the two younger men to sweep the area. Eric enters the room and realizes they are in the hallway with the holding cells. He and Four separate and take each side of the hall. They sweep each cell and find them completely empty. George enters the hall and walks behind them, checking each cell.

"Where are the other cells?" Eric asks.

"There aren't any. This is where they were holding her son." George replies.

Eric paces back and forth, looking into every cell as if he expects something to change. "Where would they take her?" He asks.

"The labs." Four says. "If Jeanine is obsessed with your baby then it would make sense that she takes her to the labs to confirm the pregnancy."

"He's right." George replies.

"Take me there." Eric says and his father grabs his arm to stop him from pacing.

"Listen to me Eric." George begins and Eric looks up at his father. "You have to focus; you're no good to her if you can't."

"I'm focused. I need to find her. Please." Eric replies.

"Stay alert boys." George says quietly as he leads them towards the lab.

xXxXxXxXxXxXxXx

Tris watches her brother and finds his cold expression hasn't changed. He glances her way every so often but for the most part his focus is on the older redhead she now knows is her father's sister.

They've drawn her blood, they've taken a sample of her urine, they've swabbed her cheeks and they've even taken hair from her head and from her pubic area. She should feel violated but she instead feels a sense of relief now that the focus is on the results from whatever testing they are doing.

She tries to listen to their conversations but they're talking too quietly for her to pick up on anything they say. Her mind wanders to Eric and what he's doing. By now she's sure he's found out she's gone and she's afraid that whatever reaction he has could interfere in their plans to stop the war. Tris was actually surprised to see Jeanine since she knows it's less than twelve hours until the simulation is due to start.

"Beatrice, you continue to astound me. I didn't believe Jeanine when she told me she had not one but two pure divergents. I clearly underestimated you." Samantha remarks as she approaches the younger woman.

"Why are you so interested in me?" Tris asks.

"Because you shouldn't exist and now I need to learn more about you. It's fascinating to me that you and Eric could somehow be pure with the impure genes that went into your creation." She smiles. "Anywho, we will be preparing you for the extraction shortly."

Tris feels the familiar bubbles of panic rising. "I'm sorry, what extraction?"

"The embryo of course. We need to begin its incubation and get your body prepared for the next fertilization." She explains.

"What are you fucking talking about?" Tris asks angrily.

"Language Beatrice!" Samantha scolds. "I thought Jeanine had explained this to you already. Damn that woman. I told her not to start the simulation early but she just wouldn't listen. She obviously doesn't multitask well."

"She started the simulation already?" Tris asks nervously.

"She did. Complete chaos if you ask me, but she seems to think it's all under control. So, as I was saying we will be extracting this embryo from you and incubating it in our simulation womb. It's quite fascinating, you see the technology we have is brilliant because all we need is that fertilized egg and our womb does the rest. Just think Beatrice, you don't have to lose that perfect little body of yours. And, if you play nicely I may even let you continue to conceive the old fashioned way since you and that boyfriend of yours can't seem to keep your hands off of each other." She replies with a chuckle.

"You are sick." Tris spits.

"Oh dear how on earth do you think I'm sick? Do you think we didn't know the two of you were screwing anywhere and anytime you please? It quite amuses me that Andrew and Natalie's perfect little Abnegation girl turned into such a little whore. How does it feel Beatrice, knowing that mommy and daddy are going to be so very disappointed to hear their precious angel was sleeping her way to the top of Dauntless?" Samantha replies with a sinister smile. "I'm surprised you didn't at least take Tobias Eaton for a spin. He's quite the handsome man and he seemed quite entranced with you. Did you maybe find a way to give him a taste without the cameras picking up on it?"

You "Oh my god, you are disgusting." Tris says while shaking her head. Samantha laughs.

"Please, you're not going to try to convince me you're a prude now Beatrice. You have had sex with Eric in public. Did you think we wouldn't notice that?"

Tris can feel the blush on her neck and cheeks and her embarrassment soon gives way to anger.

"You are a real sicko aren't you? Watching your own niece have sex with her boyfriend, that's pretty high up on the perversion chart wouldn't you say? Maybe you're into kinky shit like that though. Do tell me Samantha, which was your favorite part?" Tris replies.

"You're quite the amusing child, but it's time to quiet that smart little mouth of yours. I'm going to give you this little injection and you're going to go to sleep. You don't want to be awake during our procedure." Samantha grins as she prepares the syringe.

"Wait, no. I'm not ready for this. Can you give me some time, please? Don't do this, don't take my baby. Just let me keep it and I swear I'll let you do anything you want, please."

Samantha injects the serum into Tris' neck and she watches as the fire slowly fizzles out of her niece's eyes.

"Don't worry, you'll be pregnant again soon…" Samantha says. Tris doesn't hear anything more as she slips into unconsciousness.

xXxXxXxXxXxXxXx

Eric adjusts his weapon as he silently moves down the corridor. His father, Four and he had to split up when they realized the complicated layout of the labs made it nearly impossible to cover in a short amount of time. He's yet to see anyone and that worries him because even though he knows the simulation may still be going on he expected the labs to be pretty active as well.

A flash of blue catches his eye and he quickly makes his way towards where he saw it. He sees the person quickly dart across the hallway from one lab to the next and he takes off after them. Once he's inside the lab he draws his weapon.

"Where is she?" He growls at the woman.

"Please do not harm me. I don't know what you're asking. Please." She says while holding her hands in the air. "I'm unarmed. Take what you need."

"Where is Jeanine?"

"She's here, she's been working on the girl." The woman answers.

"What girl? Long light brown hair? Dauntless?" Eric asks rapidly and the woman nods.

"Yes, the pregnant girl. You are here for her?" She asks.

"I am. She's carrying my child. Can you take me to them?" Eric asks.

"Please don't hurt me. I have children too and a husband who I love. Please."

"Lady, I don't want to hurt you, I just want to find my girlfriend. If you take me to her I will let you live." Eric replies.

"Yes of course. I will take you to her just please don't hurt me. Follow me." She says and Eric keeps his gun on her as he grabs her arm and shoves her in front of him.

"Go." He commands and she nervously begins walking down the hall towards another larger lab.

"They were just in there I swear." The terrified woman says. "Oh god please don't kill me." She begs as tears trail down her cheeks.

"Shut up!" Eric hisses as he pushes her into the lab. He follows behind her and closes the door. "What were they planning on doing to her?"

"Taking the embryo." She replies between gasps of breath and sobs.

Eric's panic returns as he begins speaking again. "What's your name?"

"Greta." She replies through tears.

"I'm Eric. Greta, that woman who Jeanine is holding is who I plan on marrying. I'm going to spend my life with her and our children, like you with your family. I need you to focus for me, ok? Tell me where they would take her to do whatever procedure you just described. Do we go to the hospital to find them?" He asks.

"No." She shakes her head. "We have procedure rooms here." She says as she tries to calm her breathing. "I can take you."

"Ok, that's good Greta. Please take me to find Tris." Eric tries to keep his voice calm but he's failing.

He follows the frazzled woman through many hallways and rooms and it becomes obvious that wherever these procedure rooms are its somewhere that's hidden from everyday viewing. As they make their way through another empty corridor the sounds of high heels clicking on the floor echoes off the wall and a tall redhead comes into view.

"Greta, what's going on here?" She asks.

"Nothing at all Samantha." Greta replies nervously. Eric keeps his gun down low on her back but hidden from the other woman's view.

"Who might this be?" She regards Eric curiously.

"Just one of the guards." Eric replies evenly.

"Interesting, I've never seen you around before. And since when does Greta need a personal guard?" She asks as she narrows her eyes at Eric.

"Samantha please…." Greta pleads and the redhead pulls a gun and points it at Eric.

"Who the fuck are you?" She growls.

"He's just here for that girl." Greta cries and Samantha yanks her away from Eric's grip. He points his gun at the other woman.

"It's you…." Samantha murmurs and Eric's eyes narrow.

"Where is she?" Eric asks.

"You're Eric Coulter. Jeanine was right; you walked right in here all alone." She smiles.

Before Eric can react they are surrounded on both sides by guards, some of which Eric recognizes from Dauntless.

"Drop your weapon!" He hears Razor shout from behind him. "I always knew you were a fucking traitor. I guess that is some platinum pussy."

Eric is forced to his knees and his hands are cuffed behind his back as Razor roughly grabs his arm and hauls him back into a standing position.

"You know I'm going to have to have a taste of her now. You pissed your entire career away over that girl. I need to know what's so great about her." He says with a laugh and Eric head butts him. The sound of Razor's nose breaking and the blood pouring from it makes Eric laugh and another guard knocks Eric out with the butt of his rifle.

"Put him in Jeanine's personal lab." Samantha commands and she watches as they drag the dark haired young man away. "Greta, you should be more aware of your surroundings, but your misstep may be the best thing that could have possibly happened. Jeanine will be pleased to hear we have both of her test subjects in custody."

Samantha pulls her cell phone out and dial's Jeanine's number. The leader answers on the first ring.

"I have a present waiting for you in your personal lab." She says before disconnecting. "Greta, come with me. We will be working on Miss Prior, but first we have to gather some equipment."

xXxXxXxXxXxXxXx

Four has lost all communications with Eric and George, and he is trying to not let the worry creep in as he makes his way quietly towards where he sees Tris being held. He's patiently watched as both Jeanine and the mystery redhead have exited the room leaving Tris under the guard of Caleb Prior and Peter Hayes. Both young men are engrossed in watching something on the computer in front of them.

Four tries one last time to reach George or Eric, and neither man answer the call. He takes a deep breath before creeping silently into the lab. Tris' eyes dart up to his and he presses his finger to his lips. In a split second he has grabbed Peter Hayes by his throat and pressed his gun to his temple.

"Hello boys." He says in a menacing voice.

"Tobias, there's no need for violence." Caleb says in a shaky voice. Four still isn't sure he can trust the other man, no matter how much he revealed before, however he knows that Peter is a much better shot so he took his chances when he decided to grab him.

"Four, they helped me, please don't hurt them. They reversed the serum she gave me just a few minutes ago, that's how I'm even awake right now." Tris says.

"Take the cuffs off of her." Four commands. Caleb nods and fumbles for the keys on his key ring.

"Four, man I'm on your side buddy. You don't have to shoot me. I'll help." Peter says nervously as Four presses the barrel more firmly against his temple.

"Interesting theory Hayes." Four scoffs.

Caleb unlocks Tris and she rushes to Four's side. "Are you ok?" He asks.

"I'm fine. Where is Eric?" She asks.

"He's in the building somewhere, we will find him." Four glances at Caleb. "Are you with us?"

"I am." Caleb replies. Four tosses him a gun and he yanks Peter's arm until they are face to face.

"Hayes, give me one good reason why I shouldn't blow your fucking skull open right this second." Four growls.

"I helped wake Tris up just now, and I can help you get out of here. I have codes and overrides. Please man." He pleads.

"There are three of us who will be armed and will shoot you if you so much as even blink the wrong way. We need to find Jeanine, Max and whoever that fucking redhead is. Make it happen." Four commands as he pushes Peter aside.

"She's our father's sister." Tris replies and Four looks at her with disbelief. "I would love to have a nice little talk with her."

Four nods once at Tris. "I'll lead, Hayes behind me, Tris and Caleb in the back. Let's go."

"They were going to get equipment so they are likely in the medical supply room." Caleb says from behind them.

"I'll get you there." Peter says. He leads them down several hallways and then gestures towards a room across from where they stand. There is a keypad along with a handprint scanner by the door. Peter keys in a code and places his hand on the scanner to unlock it and he opens the door.

"Peter, what are you doing here?" Samantha asks and then gasps when she sees Four, Tris and Caleb enter the room with their guns drawn.

"Where is Jeanine?" Tris asks.

"Oh little girl, as if I would tell you. Why don't you put your gun away and do what's necessary to take care of that little problem you have?" Samantha replies.

"Little problem? My baby is a little problem to you? From what I understand, my baby is very important to you." Tris replies.

Four closes the space between him and Samantha and presses his gun to her side. She tenses slightly and then smiles at her niece and nephew.

"I'm sure we can work something out if you'll just call your guard dog off Tris. This one is almost as bad as your boyfriend." She replies.

"What do you know about Eric?" Tris asks.

"I know he was hell bent on finding you, but unfortunately for him he found me first."

Tris rushes towards the older woman and puts her gun against her forehead. "Where is he?" She breathes out angrily.

"Hey, calm down Beatrice, this anger and rage isn't good for the baby." Samantha replies nervously.

"Tell me where he is." Tris growls out each word.

"All I know is he's with Jeanine. You do realize they were working together, don't you?" Samantha replies.

"Your attempts to poison me against Eric are pathetic, and if you want to live you might want to start answering the questions I ask. Where. Is. Eric?" She spits.

"I'm not afraid of you little girl." Samantha sneers. She reaches towards the pocket of her lab coat and in a split second reaction Tris fires her weapon.

"Fuck!" Four yells as they watch Samantha's body falls limply to the ground. A cell phone falls out of the pocket she was reaching towards. Caleb and Peter look at the scene in front of them in complete shock and Four stares at Tris.

They both have blood splatter on them, and while Four may be shocked he's handling things better than Tris. He grabs towels to wipe off his clothes and arms, and then he begins gently cleaning the blood from Tris.

"It was just a phone…" She murmurs.

"You didn't know that." Four replies as he wipes the blood off of her face.

"I killed her…"

Four takes her chin in his hand and tilts her face towards him. He looks into her eyes before speaking.

"You did what a Dauntless is trained to do. You protected yourself and those of us with you. Be proud of your actions Tris, this is war." Four says as he wipes the few tears that are trailing down her cheeks. He doesn't take his hands or eyes off of Tris before addressing her brother. "Caleb, do you know where they would have taken Eric to meet with Jeanine?"

"Probably her office or her lab." He replies in a vacant voice.

"Caleb, Peter, get it together. Tris did what was necessary. Come on, let's find Jeanine. Are her lab and office close together?" Four asks.

"No, they are on different floors completely." Peter replies.

"What's the security like?" Four asks.

"Impenetrable." Caleb replies. "The best we could probably do is get close enough to at least see if they're inside either place and if we find them we can formulate a plan."

Four notices Tris' eyes flitting down to where the body lies on the floor and he grabs her chin forcefully again.

"You look at me, keep looking into my eyes and nowhere else Tris. Are you ready to find Eric?" Four asks. The glazed over look of her eyes is frightening him slightly, but he refuses to show it. "Tris, are you ready?"

She says nothing and Four looks over her shoulder at Caleb and Peter. "Get in the hallway and cover us. I will have her right out." He commands and the two younger men do as their told and guard outside the door.

"Tris, I need you to focus on me. Hey, look at me." He says as he shakes her slightly. Her clouded over eyes and blank expression don't change and it's like she's looking through him. "Fuck it; he can kick my ass later." He mumbles before dropping his lips to hers. Within seconds she's pushed him away and slapped his face.

"What the fuck is your problem?" She yells at him.

"Thank fucking god. Let's go find Eric." He replies as he grabs her arm and drags her out of the room. He looks at Caleb. "Where are we going first?"

"Her lab is on this floor, let's start there." He replies.

"Hayes." Four barks and Peter turns to look at him. "Take this. If you fuck with me, I'll kill you." He shoves a rifle into his hand and Peter gulps first but then nods in respect. "Go, now."

Caleb and Peter lead them down a hallway and they hear the thud of heavy footsteps coming towards them. Tris and Four turn around, pressing their backs against the backs of Caleb and Peter, and all four draw their weapons as the sounds of footsteps grow closer.

"Hold your fire." Four quickly commands as George and Amar come in to view.

"You're ok. Thank god." George says as he gathers Tris in his arms. He looks up at Four before speaking again. "They have him in her lab. Amar and I haven't been able to get in there. We have to hurry."

"The sim has been stopped again and the Dauntless in Abnegation are working hard to eliminate the Erudite presence there. The problem is this triggers Jeanine's contingency plan." Amar says as he brushes past the group and indicates for them to follow.

"Which is?" Tris asks.

"Death serum." Peter says quietly and Amar jerks his head towards him.

"You know?" Amar asks.

"Yeah. She's going to deploy an airborne death serum in here, Abnegation and in Dauntless. We have to fucking go." Peter replies.

"How long do we have?" Tris asks.

"Less than an hour, if that." Peter replies. "We need to find him and get him out of here."

"Let's go, now!" Tris commands and Amar leads the group towards Jeanine's lab.

xXxXxXxXxXxXxXx

Jeanine leans against a table in the lab and watches Eric as he sleeps. She can see the bruise forming on his temple from where her guards subdued him, but other than that he appears to be peacefully dreaming.

She had such high expectations for the young man in front of her. She'd be lying if she said she didn't care about him, she'd had an almost motherly pull towards him since he was a boy. She expected him to always be loyal to her, she had worked hard to groom him for leadership and did her best to make him a respectable young man but all of her work was for null the minute he met Beatrice Prior. How on earth a wholesome girl raised by one of the most respected Abnegation leaders would not only leave her home faction for Dauntless, but also manage to fall in love with the most reclusive and focused leader that faction had ever seen was mind boggling to Jeanine.

"Watching me sleep is creepy as fuck." Eric says groggily, breaking Jeanine from her reverie. He pulls against the handcuffs that are restraining his wrists. "Why am I cuffed to this fucking chair?"

"I expected so much more from you Eric. Why did you betray me?" She asks.

"There was nothing to betray, your vision and values are warped. I never wanted anything to do with this shit." He answers.

"You see Eric that further proves my point that you divergent are what are wrong with our city. Your daughter will be instrumental in curing the divergence issue. If nothing else you know you've done something good in creating that."

"My daughter? You know? How?" Eric stutters.

"I know everything Eric, and you'd be amazed at what one can learn just from DNA and genetic testing. Your little girlfriend is carrying what will be your biological daughter. The first of her kind, a divergent born of two pures." Jeanine muses. "But never you worry, we plan on extracting that embryo from Beatrice and within a few weeks you'll be able to conceive again. We're hoping to have several more children conceived and incubating soon. Since you and Beatrice get along so famously, it shouldn't be an issue." She smirks.

"What kind of sick shit are you running Jeanine? You're just going to breed us? What the fuck? We're people, you can't just force us to copulate and then keep taking our children from their mother. What kind of monster are you?" Eric asks.

"See that's where you're wrong Eric, I can do whatever I want. This is my city." She sneers. She opens her mouth to speak again but a loud alarm cuts her off.

"Alert – thirty minutes – alert." An automated voice calls out and then the alarm silences. Eric notices the surprised look on Jeanine's face.

"Well that was certainly unexpected." She replies in an offhanded manner before a noise outside the windows of her lab catches her attention.

Eric turns towards the windows and sees his father and Amar.

"Dad!" He yells.

"George, it's quite fancy meeting you here." Jeanine says with a smile.

"Open the door Jeanine." George commands.

"Oh that's amusing. I'm certainly not opening this door. Why don't you open it for me?" She taunts.

"You have to come out sometime. You only have half an hour Jeanine." Amar prods.

Jeanine looks at the two men and then back to Eric. She already knows why the alarm is going off, and the fact that the contingency plan has kicked off tells her that every other aspect of her plans have failed.

"I can't believe this. I had failsafe on top of failsafe on top of plans that were airtight. How are we here?" Jeanine asks out loud to no one in particular.

"Jeanine, you can stop this. Just turn yourself in. Jack will show leniency if you just stop this right now. Think about it, it's not too late for you to make changes. You don't need to kill innocent people to get your point across. Just come out Jeanine, let's end this." Amar says calmly.

"No. Jack will execute me." Jeanine replies.

"What's going on? Dad? Amar? What's happening right now?" Eric asks.

"Son, we're going to get the two of you out of there. You have nothing to worry about." George replies gently. "Jeanine, let's just open this door up and get you two out to safety."

Jeanine looks through the window at George but he notices her eyes travel past him and her expression turns hard.

"I see there's no one I can trust." She almost growls when she sees Caleb and Peter, followed closely by Four and Tris.

"Eric!" Tris shouts as she runs to the window. "Oh my god, are you ok? Your head."

"Baby, I'm fine. It's just a bump. Are you ok? Did they hurt you?" Eric asks.

"I'm fine. We're fine." Tris turns towards George. "We have to get him out of here. Can we break the window?"

Jeanine's shrill laughter gets everyone's attention. "Did you really think I wouldn't safeguard my own lab? The glass is impenetrable. It's bulletproof, shatterproof, and unable to be broken. Same with the door, there's no possible way for you to get in here without me."

"Alert – twenty minutes – alert."

Four and Tris use the butt of their rifles and begin banging unsuccessfully against the windows, both realizing that the reinforcements that Jeanine mentioned are true.

Four exchanges a look with Amar. "There's no way in there at all?" He whispers.

Amar looks at the younger man and sighs. "We could try the ventilation system." He suggests.

"How do we get in there?" Four asks and Amar shakes his head.

"It's complicated, and I already know you're claustrophobic. We'd need someone who knows the system and can keep a clear head in small spaces." He explains.

"I can do it." Caleb offers. "I know the system and I don't mind enclosed spaces. Where should I start?"

"Caleb…." Tris says. "No…."

"Beatrice, look at me, I'll be fine. I want to do this. You need him; your daughter needs her father." He smiles.

"Daughter?" She says softly and he nods his head.

"Yes, the genetic testing revealed the gender. I have to go. I love you Beatrice, and I love my niece." He hugs his sister tightly before turning away. He pauses at the window. "Eric, you take care of them."

Eric nods at Caleb and watches as he and Amar quickly exit the room. To everyone's surprise, Peter follows behind, offering his help.

"Dad, get her out of here." Eric commands.

"No, I'm not leaving until we get you out." Tris replies.

"Young love, how precious." Jeanine says as she slowly paces in front of the window.

"Jeanine, you don't want to do this. You are better than this. Just open the door and come out. We will do everything we can to help you. I've known you for years Jeanine, this isn't who you are. You care about my son. You were more of a mother to him than Shannon ever was. You don't want to hurt him." George says in a soothing voice.

"You know they're never going to let me live. I am not going under that god awful truth serum. You should just go George; you don't need to be here." She replies.

"Alert – fifteen minutes – alert."

Tris points her gun at the door and fires at the lock. The bullet ricochets and Four has to yank on her to move her away from its path.

"Tris, what the fucking hell? Don't shoot at it. The entire thing is bulletproof, and you're going to get yourself killed if you do that again." Four shouts.

She starts banging her fists against the windows and sobbing. "Please just let him out. Please. I need him."

Eric looks at Tris through the window. "We never talked about names."

"We have plenty of time to do that. We're getting you out of here." She says in between tears.

"Caleb will get to me, but until he does we can talk about it. Please baby?" Eric says in as calm of a voice as he can muster.

"We're having a little girl." She says softly.

"We are. She needs a name." Eric replies.

"Alert – ten minutes – alert."

"Jeanine, open the fucking door!" George roars.

Jeanine just stares off without acknowledging anyone. Eric pulls against the handcuffs holding him onto the chair.

"We have to go." George says to Four.

"No. I will not leave him!" Tris shouts. "Let him out Jeanine! If you want to die so be it but he's done nothing wrong. Please let him out. Please Jeanine, I'll do whatever you want. I'll give you as many babies as you need, please just let him out. I love him, I need him. Please Jeanine. Whatever you want, I mean it, and I will do anything. Please just let him out." Tris sobs.

"Four, get her out of here." Eric commands. The panic is evident now and he makes no more efforts to hide. "Tris, listen to me, I love you so much baby. You are the best thing to have ever happened to me. I'm ok baby because I had you in my life. I need you to go; I need you to take care of yourself and of our little girl. I've always liked the name Riley Paige. I think I read it in a book somewhere, I can't even remember, but baby that's what I want to name our daughter. We made her together Tris, she's from our love and she's going to be beautiful like you."

"No Eric, no I can't do this, please let him out!" Tris begs.

"Tris, I need you to go." He turns his attention to Four. "You promised me Four. It's time. Take care of her; don't let my daughter grow up without a father figure in her life. You made me a promise and I know you love her too; you fucking take care of them. Don't let her want for anything Four. You love my little girl like she's yours. You protect my family with your life. Fucking promise me."

"I promise you Eric. Your little girl will be loved always." Four says through his own tears.

"Dad, I need you to go. All of you have to be there for Riley, and for Tris. They will need all the family they can get."

"Alert – five minutes – alert."

"You have to go, right now! Get out of here!" Eric shouts.

Four puts his arms around Tris and she punches and kicks against him. "No! Eric, I love you so much. Please don't leave. Please let him out! Jeanine please! Eric, I love you. I can't do this!"

"I love you baby, always." Eric says through his own tears. "Dad, I love you, take care of my family."

"I love you too son." George replies. "I will always take care of them."

Eric watches as Four picks his hysterical girlfriend up and he listens to her agonizing screams as Four forcefully carries her away from the room. The sounds of her wailing get further and further away as a mist starts blowing into the room.

His lungs start to burn with each breath he draws in and he can feel himself getting lightheaded while everything around him looks blurry. He thinks about that day in the Hub when he first met the hazel eyes of the woman he would never be able to live without. He remembers the fire in her eyes when she challenged him during the knife throwing training. He can see her outstretched arms when she was flying down the zip line that first time. He remembers how her lips felt against his the first time they kissed. He'll never forget the first time they said they loved each other or the look in her eyes that first time when they joined together as one. He may not have been able to give her the ring he bought for her, and he will never get to meet his daughter but the love that he and Tris shared will forever live on in their little girl.

He closes his eyes and ignores the burn in his lungs as he draws in one more ragged breath.

He found the love of his life and for the first time he lived. When he saw her on choosing day it was like breathing for the first time.

He exhales one last time. He is finally free.


	26. Epilogue

**AN: As promised, the epilogue. Thank you all, I hope you've enjoyed reading this story as much as I've enjoyed writing it.**

Five Years Later

Water, it touches the horizon and also laps at the sandy shore like a lovers kiss. Small waves form every so often, but mostly it's just the quiet ripples of water washing up and down the expansive shore.

The sand is soft here, that was one thing Tris noticed immediately about this pristine stretch of land they finally all decided to settle on. They learned the state they now call home is known as Florida, and the beautiful body of water their homes overlook is the Gulf of Mexico. It's quiet here for the most part, when they first arrived it was almost desolate, however they found the center of town to be inhabited and quite lively. People from all walks of life gathered in this city and made it their home. It was a mix of many generations and cultures, and every one of their little makeshift family loved it.

She lies back on the blanket and adjusts her bikini to give her a little more coverage. She still can't believe she let Christina talk her into wearing a two piece. Even though she is six months pregnant and her baby bump is tiny, her breasts were a different story and she didn't like feeling so exposed. She adjusts her top again and looks down at the tattoo of Eric's name over her heart. She traces the letters with her fingertip and feels the burn of tears in her eyes before rapidly blinking them away. She knows she's much more emotional than normal due to pregnancy hormones, but no matter how much time passes she can't deny missing Eric.

"Penny for your thoughts?" Four asks as he plops down on the blanket next to Tris. She smiles at him and shakes her head slightly. "Aw, come on, don't hold it in. We've talked about that before - whatever you want to talk about I'm here."

She's never seen Four more relaxed than he has been lately, and he looks right at home sitting shirtless on their blanket in just his board shorts. There was a time when he refused to ever remove his shirt, because even with his massive back tattoo the crisscrossed scars of his childhood were still visible across his back. It took a lot of coaxing, and even more trust for him to ever remove that shirt outside of the privacy of his own bedroom. Now, with his golden tan and slightly sun lightened hair he looks every bit the calm and peaceful young man that Tris always knew he was inside.

"It's so beautiful here. Can you believe we ever lived in city with walls before?" She asks as she gazes off towards the water.

"We were definitely never meant to be kept in a cage." He laments.

"Riley Paige! You know you are not to get that close to the water without an adult!" Tris admonishes. The little daredevil looks up at her mother with a grin, her long almost jet black hair blowing in the slight breeze as she runs towards them.

She tackles Four with a hug, and he makes a show of falling down on the blanket while she sits on him and plants kisses all over his face.

"I sowwy." She says with her best pout. "Can you take me swimming?" She grins at Four.

"How about we take you?" Ryder asks as he scoops her up off of Four's chest on his way towards the water.

"Unca RyRy!" She shouts. "Auntie Tori! Oh hi Jessie!" Riley leans down and kisses her two year old cousin on her cheek while Jessie giggles at her.

"Do you two mind if we take her off your hands?" Ryder asks and Four shakes his head.

"I don't as long as mama bear is ok with it." Four replies with a grin.

"Riley, you listen to your aunt and uncle. Make sure you hold one of their hands at all times ok?" Tris says.

"Yes mama. I love you." Riley gives her mother a sweet kiss.

"I love you too baby girl, so much." Tris replies as she hugs her daughter. Riley squirms out of her arms and tackles Four one more time, giving him a hug and kiss.

"I love you." Riley says as she grins up at Four.

"You will never love me as much as I love you my little monster." He replies as he blows raspberries on her neck and listens to her squeals of delight. She blows her own raspberry on Four's cheek before taking her aunt and uncle's hands.

Ryder has Jessie on his shoulders, and Four and Tris watch as they swing Riley back and forth between them on their way to the water, listening to the girls' giggles and shrieks the whole way.

"She looks so much like her father." Tris says quietly.

"Poor kid." Four quips and Tris laughs and playfully smacks his chest. "What? Those are some strong genes, hell she looks like she could be their kid." He nods towards Ryder and Tori and laughs.

"Whatever." Tris says with a smile. "Maybe this one will look like me." She says while she runs her hands over her small baby bump.

"Not a chance." Four smirks as he puts a hand on Tris' belly as she sticks out her lip in a pout.

The two sit in comfortable silence for a few minutes before Four speaks again. "I can't believe I'm going to be a father." He says while looking out at where Riley is playing.

"Well you'd better believe it, there's no going back now." Tris smiles. "Besides, you are great with Riley, you are pretty much already a father in that aspect. You're amazing Tobias, to Riley and to me too. You're nothing like Marcus. You've been nothing but kind, gentle and loving to Riley, and you're great with Jessie too."

"She's such a great kid. I hope this one is just like her." He replies softly.

"Me too." Tris says softly as she absentmindedly rubs her baby bump.

"Do you ever think about just how surreal it is that we are here right now?" Four asks.

Tris pauses for a moment, unsure of how to answer. She's avoided talking about everything that happened in Chicago for a long time. The tragedies she had to endure from the war have permanently scarred her and she struggles to this day with the losses of her loved ones.

"We survived and many of the people we loved didn't. I feel guilty about that sometimes Tobias." She says quietly.

"Me too." He says with a nod. "I try so hard not to dwell on it but the guilt creeps in all the time. I love the life we have here, don't get me wrong, but when I think about how much different it could be it really gets to me."

"I have those same thoughts. I really thought I could change what I saw during my aptitude test." Tris replies.

"But you did change it. Every part of it was different. The outcome was completely different. You can't possibly blame yourself for anything that happened Tris. I get the survivor's guilt, because it plagues me too, but feeling guilty for what happened that day isn't right. If it weren't for you, things would be completely different. You did everything you possibly could." Four replies.

"But if I hadn't of took off that night to meet with Eric's mom…" Tris says as the tears she's fighting begin to fall.

"Hey, come here." Four says as he wraps his arms around her. "Don't cry. I shouldn't have even brought it up. I know you don't like to talk about it. I hate that we've had to deal with so much loss, but look at us now. I'm happy Tris. I'm about to become a father, we're a big dysfunctional family now, everything is good." He says with a chuckle and Tris bursts into laughter beside him.

"You are such an asshole." She says as she playfully pushes him away from her. He laughs at her and plants a kiss on the top of her head before flopping back on the blanket.

"There you two are. I should have known I'd find you out here. How can you be pregnant and sit in this heat all day long?" Christina asks as she looks down at them with a smile.

"I love the sunshine." Tris replies with a smile. "Why don't you sit?" She pats the blanket next to her and Christina smiles.

"Hey, let me help you." Four says as he jumps up and helps ease the very pregnant Christina down on the blanket. Once she's sitting comfortably he gives her a loving kiss before sitting behind her, putting his legs on either side of her so she can lean against his chest.

"You are the best husband ever." She sighs.

"I've got a pretty amazing wife." He says as he nuzzles her neck.

"You two are gross." Tris admonishes playfully.

"Like you and your husband aren't all over each other every chance you get. That baby didn't put itself in your belly." Christina laughs. "I may need to go into the water soon; it's so hot out here. I feel like a beached whale."

"Chris, you are nine months pregnant and you look beautiful. Cut that out." Tris scolds.

"Yeah, what she said." Four agrees and Christina turns to give him a kiss. "Ready for a swim my lady?"

"Yes, let's go." She reaches her arms out and he helps her to her feet. Tris smiles as she watches her two best friends walk hand-in-hand to the water.

Tris closes her eyes and enjoys the warmth of the sun on her skin. She can feel a shadow blocking the sun and she slowly opens her eyes.

"Hello beautiful."

"I thought you weren't due back until next week!" Tris exclaims as he drops down on the blanket next to her.

"We finished early and I caught the first flight out of the city. I hate being back there, and I didn't want to be away from you all that long." He leans in and kisses her. He feels her fingers running through his short hair and he leans into her touch. "I love you baby." He whispers before kissing her rounded belly. "And I love you little one. How's Riley been?"

"She's missed you. She's out there with everyone swimming." Tris nods towards the water and he looks out with a smile. "Hey, are you ok?"

"It gets a little easier every time." He says quietly. He lies back on the blanket and Tris immediately puts her head on his chest and settles in the crook of his arm.

"This should be the last execution, right? No more after this one. It's been five years Eric, how many more war criminals do you need to be there for?" She asks while tracing the tattoo of her name on his chest.

"I don't know baby." He replies quietly. "They're just trying to get everyone who was responsible for the war itself and the death serum too."

Tris closes her eyes and listens to the sound of his heart beating. Every time she thinks about how she almost lost him it brings her back to that day.

She still remembers Four dragging her away from the lab and out of the building completely. She was screaming for Eric, fighting against Fours tight grip on her as she tried desperately to get back to her love.

Four got them out of the building just seconds before the serums deployed, and in that very moment Tris felt like her life was over. She lost the love of her life, there was nothing she could do to rescue him from the locked room that Jeanine held him captive in.

The devastation from the both the simulation and the release of the airborne death serum was great, and they lost many of their good friends. Veronica, Lynn and Casey all died in the fight in Abnegation. Zeke, Uriah, Marlene, Shauna and Will were killed inside of Dauntless, some during their efforts to stop the simulation and others when the death serum was released simultaneously inside of the Dauntless compound. Tris lost her brother and her parents when the death serum was released inside of the Erudite compound. When Tris realized she had lost almost everyone she loved that day she went into shock. It was Tori and Ryder who made the decision to get her away from the city immediately. They gathered Tris, Four and Christina, packed what little belongings they could salvage into the Amity truck they had taken during the fight and they began to drive. They took turns driving, even though Christina and Tris weren't formally trained to operate a vehicle they helped when they could and they kept going until they found the first populated city along their journey. The city was called Nashville, in the state of Tennessee and the people there were kind and sympathetic to their plight. Their group spent their first several nights in Nashville completely dependent on the kindness of strangers while they attempted to contact anyone in Chicago who could update them on the condition of the city and any survivors.

On their third day in Nashville they got their first glimmer of hope when they finally got in contact with someone who knew both George and Amar. Both were hospitalized due to injuries suffered during the war, and both had required multiple surgeries for their wounds. George's condition was stable, however Amar's injuries were more severe and he'd also been exposed briefly to the death serum as well. Ryder and Tori decided to go back to Chicago, leaving Four, Christina and Tris in Nashville at their request, with promises to stay in contact and meet again as soon as possible. Tris wanted to go back to the city and be there for Amar and George, but she finally relented after a long talk with Tori convinced her that she needed to stay behind and take care of herself and her unborn child. Both Ryder and Tori knew that Tris was reeling from the loss of her family and Eric, and if something happened to Amar too she'd not handle it well. Tris had fallen into a deep depression, and it took everything Four and Christina had to get her to eat. They had to constantly remind her of the life that was growing inside of her, the last piece of Eric she had left.

Once back in Chicago, Ryder and Tori had a firsthand view of the depth of destruction from the war. There were many casualties, and so many of those bodies were unidentified. Most of the survivors had fled the city, with few remaining in the overcrowded hospitals desperately trying to save the lives of the wounded. Tori and Ryder had Amar and George moved into the same room and they stayed by their sides.

On their second night there they were approached by a young doctor they'd not seen before. He came in and checked both patients, and explained he was pleased with the progress they were making. He said he had another severely injured Dauntless that he'd like some help in identifying, and asked if either Tori or Ryder would mind coming with him. Ryder had followed the young doctor to the window of an isolated room and what he saw shook him to his core. Lying in that bed, depending on a ventilator to breathe was his nephew.

When the airborne serums had been stopped, and the Erudite headquarters deemed safe to enter a group ventured inside to retrieve bodies. The city needed proof that Jeanine Matthews was indeed dead, and when the rescuers reached the small lab she had barricaded herself in they found her body just as they expected. However, they were aghast to discover another person in the lab, and this person was somehow alive.

Eric was brought to the hospital immediately where he continued to defy all odds. The medical staff soon found that he was resistant to serums, which saved his life when locked inside a room with the airborne serum, but it was also causing issues with his recovery as his body was actively rejecting the healing serums. They had to keep him in a medically induced coma and on a ventilator to breathe since his lungs were extensively damaged from exposure to the death serum.

Eric had to be kept in isolation to recover; his lungs were in such a delicate condition that even the slightest bit of exposure to anything airborne could kill him. During the first few days of Eric's recovery, his situation was touch and go, and because of this Tori and Ryder made the difficult decision to not tell Tris he was alive. They couldn't give her false hope, and they certainly couldn't have her mourn twice. George was the first to recover enough to be discharged from the hospital only a few short days after Tori and Ryder's arrival, followed closely behind by Amar.

Eric's recovery took longer, however on the tenth day of Tori and Ryder's visit he was able to be taken off the ventilator. On the eleventh day they brought him out of his medically induced coma and on day thirteen he was moved from isolation and into a normal room and allowed his first visitors. When he woke up and didn't see Tris he panicked, fearing the worst and it took George almost an hour to talk his son down and convince him that Tris and the baby were both fine.

Since they no longer had working cell phones, they were dependent on calling the front desk of the hotel that Four, Tris and Christina had gotten rooms to stay in exchange for them working there. It took several tries to reach anyone, but finally they got Four on the phone and he was the first one they were able to share their news about Eric.

To this day, no one quite knows how Four managed to talk someone into driving Tris, Christina and himself from Nashville to Chicago, and without breathing a word about what he learned about Eric. The group drove straight through, and simply dropped Tris off at the hospital into Tori's care. Four and Christina rode back to Nashville to fulfill their promises to work for the hotel owner, as much as they would have liked to stay in Chicago with their friends they knew securing their place to live was much more important.

Tori quietly walked Tris up to Eric's room and she gestured for Tris to go inside, knowing the younger girl believed she was going to visit Amar. The minute she walked into the room she rushed to Eric's bed and threw herself on him and the two broke into tears as they held on to each other.

One of the first things Eric did when he had Tris back was have the hospital staff track down the ring they'd found in the pocket of his jacket when he was brought in. He couldn't give her a proposal on bended knee, but he asked her to marry him when they were lying side by side on his hospital bed.

Ryder, Tori, George and Amar left to go back to Nashville, knowing it was important to secure jobs and a place to live now that they had their family back together. Each of them mourned their numerous losses in the war, but it was that tragedy that brought them together as a strong and cohesive family unit.

Tris never left her fiancé's side, and no one dared to try and make her. Eric was finally discharged from the hospital a week after Tris' arrival and Four came to pick the young couple up and take them to their new home.

Even though times were tight in Nashville, the group made ends meet and found a way to work together. Eric, Four and George all found work in construction while Ryder, Tori and Tris worked at the local tattoo parlor. Christina and Amar continued working at the hotel and slowly everyone began to heal from the war. Four and Christina gravitated closer to each other, both mourning the loss of their significant others in the war. Soon they found themselves feeling more than a friendship and a ripple of hope began when the two of them began a relationship.

Tris and Eric were as strong as ever. The young couple who defied all odds by not only living through a war that was waged for them, but also by having a stable relationship in their teens, finally fulfilled their promises of a future together when they were quietly married in the courthouse in Nashville. There are many young couples who have crumbled under the type of pressure that had been placed on their shoulders, but Tris and Eric had the type of love that isn't often found outside of books and movies.

Although Nashville had been good to them, the eight survivors longed to spread their wings. Work was hard to come by, and when the colder months approached the construction work tapered off as well. They finally took their meager possessions and packed them into the two vehicles they'd managed to buy and drove off into the direction of where they were told the water was. None of them had ever seen the ocean, or the gulf and they all decided that it was something they couldn't wait to experience.

They found the water they were looking for, along with expansive beaches with soft white sand, palm trees and warm weather. It looked like something out of a painting, and Eric and Tris immediately fell in love with it and decided they wanted to raise their family there. When they made the decision to stay they weren't sure if the rest of their family would want the same things but to their delight everyone was just as enthralled with the natural beauty of the area as they were.

One of the first things that happened once they'd all settled into life in Florida was for Christina and Four to get married. The two decided there was no reason to wait, as they'd quickly moved from friendship to love and their bond was incredibly strong.

Eric and Tris' daughter Riley Paige Coulter was born at a healthy six pounds eight ounces and came into the world looking just like her father. Tris and Eric arranged their work schedules so that one of them was always home to care for their daughter, but the stress of separation was taking its toll on the young couple, and soon Amar and George changed their schedules to help care for their granddaughter so that Eric and Tris had more time together.

No matter how many miles separated them from Chicago, they were constantly being pulled back there. There were numerous war criminal trials where each of them would testify. Eventually, the trials started to taper off, however Eric was constantly being asked to come back. His testimony was vital in getting every single surviving member of Jeanine's regime convicted and punished appropriately for their crimes, one of the last being the execution of the highest living member of the war criminals, Max.

When Eric got hired into the government of the state of Florida he decided it was time for a change. His beautiful long black hair, which was his signature look in Dauntless was finally cut off. He started wearing a hairstyle that was cropped tightly on the sides and a bit longer on top, just enough for him to slick back. He removed his ear and facial piercings, keeping only his nipple rings, and he began the painful process of removing the tattoos on his neck. While there was a time in his life that he was proud to wear those stripes, that life was the one he left behind and he was ready to move on. The only memories of Dauntless that he cherished were the ones that began on that fateful choosing day when he first locked eyes with his wife.

Tris continued to work as a tattoo artist and Tori, Ryder and she were finally able to open their own shop. Word of mouth was their best advertising and soon they were booked for appointments months in advance. Eric was extremely proud of his beautiful wife and daughter and the three settled into family life seamlessly.

For as much of a surprise their pregnancy with Riley was, their second pregnancy was well thought out and planned. Tris had stopped her birth control for only six weeks when their second child was conceived. They knew Riley's gender almost immediately due to Jeanine's testing, so they've decided to wait to find out the gender of their unborn child.

Eric was able to get Four a job working side by side with him in the government, and the once bitter rivals who could barely be in the same room for more than a few minutes were now as close as brothers. As much as it pained Eric to watch Four drag Tris away from him that day in the lab, his actions saved her life and cemented his place in Eric's life from that day forward. His wife, daughter and unborn child are here today because of Four's actions and quick response that day so the pettiness and resentment from their past was completely forgotten.

"I missed you." Eric says in a quiet rumble as he leans over and kisses Tris. She smiles against his lips and he lays his head on her chest and runs his hand over her baby bump.

"When did you get back in?" George asks as he approaches his son and daughter in law.

"Just a few minutes ago." Eric replies as he smiles up at his dad.

"Good to have you home. Now if you'll excuse us we are going to go play with our granddaughter and niece." Amar says as he and George head towards the water.

"Daddy!" Riley screams as she runs full speed to the blanket where her parents are lying. She jumps on Eric and covers his face in kisses. "I love you so much!"

"Hey I love you too my princess. I heard you were a good girl while I was gone." Eric says as he wraps his arms around his daughter.

"I was mommy said so." Riley agrees as she nods her head.

"I'm proud of you." Eric replies before kissing her forehead.

"Daddy are you gonna be able to stay home wif us now?" Riley asks as she trains her slightly almond shaped hazel eyes on her father.

"Princess, I'm going to do everything I can to stay here with you and your mommy." He says sincerely. "I love the two of you, and this little one in mommy's tummy more than you can possibly imagine."

"More than mommy's pasketti?" She asks quizzacly.

"I don't know Riles, mommy's spaghetti is pretty good, even you have to admit that." Eric replies with a smirk.

"Daddy!" Riley admonishes.

"Especially if she makes meatballs and garlic bread with it. Mmmmmm." Eric replies playfully.

"Your daddy is a stinker isn't he Riles?" Tris asks.

"Yeah he is. Daddy you love me the mostest." Riley implores and Eric laughs.

"I do princess, I love you more than spaghetti, meatballs and garlic bread combined. I love you to the moon and back." He says and Riley places a wet kiss on him.

"I gotta go daddy, Jessie needs me to play with her." Riley says in a serious tone as she scampers back where the rest of their family is gathered working on a sandcastle.

"Playing is serious work." Tris murmurs and she feels Eric chuckle.

"Indeed it is." Eric sighs happily when Tris starts running her fingers through his short hair.

"Do you know how much I love you?" He asks playfully.

"More than my cooking I hope." Tris grins, thinking back to that day over five years ago when he almost slipped and said that important L word for the first time.

"You are a fucking great cook though." He laughs.

"You know, I seem to remember you almost slipping up the first time you asked me that." She chuckles.

"You caught that?" He asks as he adjusts so he can look at her.

"I did." She replies.

"You never said a word." He grins.

"Nope, I never did. I think we were both feeling it but afraid to scare the other off by actually saying it." She muses.

"I think you're right." He agrees before kissing her again. "I love you."

"I love you too." She replies.

Eric rests his head on her chest and his hand on her belly, feeling the baby move and kick.

"My son is very active today." He quips.

"You're so sure it's a boy." Tris snickers.

"Mmmhmm. I have paternal intuition. This right here is our son." Eric says as the two feel the baby moving in response to Eric's voice.

"Well, he sure loves his daddy. He moves like crazy anytime you talk." Tris replies.

"See, even you agree this is our son." Eric says with a grin and gets an eye roll from his wife.

"Whoever is in there needs a name." Tris says.

The two had considered naming Riley after Tris' parents when she was born, but ultimately they decided to keep the name that Eric had picked that day in Jeanine's lab. Tris decided to honor her fallen family and friends in a different way. She and Eric got matching tattoos of small angel wings on the back of each shoulder, symbolizing their guardian angels.

"If it's a boy I would like to name him after you." Tris says quietly. Eric glances up at her and meets her hazel eyes.

"Tris, no…" He argues.

"Let me explain before you turn me down, please?" She asks and he nods. "Before, you were ashamed of your name because of what your mother was, but you've made that name your own. You've always been my hero baby, but your bravery during the war made the Coulter name something to be incredibly proud of. I can't think of a better name for our son."

"Thank you." Eric replies in a choked voice. He moves so he can kiss his wife and the two gaze into each other's eyes before finally pulling apart.

"I have a confession to make." Eric says slowly and Tris' eyebrows furrow. "I kind of already know for sure…" He stops and lays his hand on her belly.

Tris tries to give him a dirty look and then she breaks out in laughter. Eric smiles at her, but his adorable confused face at her actions just makes her laugh harder.

"I already do too." Tris grins and Eric's jaw drops. "So, are we good with Christian Ericson Coulter, Junior?"

"Consider my arm twisted." He smiles. "Maybe we'll call him Christian?"

"I like that idea a lot." Tris replies with a smile.

The two lie on the blanket and watch their daughter as she runs and plays with her cousin. This one little girl was enough for leaders to wage a war over just because she was expected to be genetically perfect. Eric and Tris realized early on there may have been some truth to Jeanine's assumption that a child born of the two of them would be something special. Riley has been early for every developmental milestone. She's incredibly smart and well-spoken for an almost five year old, and her moments of quiet reflection and thought are almost identical to the habits of her father. Eric's brilliance shines through with his daughter, and Tris' selflessness, along with the fearlessness that both of Riley's parents share.

The young parents are thankful that they escaped the nightmare that was within their city's walls and as a result their daughter has had a chance to be a child and not some science experiment. They were able to get married without anyone questioning them, and they've been able to plan for another child without worry that someone will try to take him away from them. The two lost so much in Chicago, but the family they have now is priceless.


End file.
